Midnight Vampires : No Escape
by xx-Ash-xx-1
Summary: Sakura and the girls are on a boring history school trip. But it suddenly becomes much more interesting when they discover graves with 5 male names on them.Then they find themselves on a horror journey back in time. What are the guys?
1. Chapter 1

**Midnight Vampires: No Escape**

**Hi there, Im back with a new story. Don't worry, the first one has NOT been discontinued, but this one just sounded better, so I wanted to see how well this goes first.**

**DISCLAIMER – I do not own anything or have any associations with Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto owns it, not me, and so credit for the characters go to him.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: Rude Greetings**

Sakura Haruno stepped down from the coach, followed by her best friends, and looked around her surroundings. A stiff breeze was blowing in from the sea, half a mile away, tugging her mid-length pink hair into her emerald eyes. She could smell the sea water, and from the light scowls on her best friend's faces, she knew they could as well.

She pushed her hair back behind her ears in frustration as she gazed around. Irritating flute music was being played loudly from the speakers, adding on to her annoyance.

Her best friends Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuuga and Tenten were besides her, as the rest of the school group milled about between the coach and the entrance to the Historical Konoha experience.

The ticket booth was set into a tall log fence, next to a large sign which read: _'Welcome Students to one of the First Settlements in Konoha! Explore and Discover History as you Travel back in Time 400 Years Ago!' _The idea, as interesting as it sounded, didn't really fascinate her that much. Unless of course, they really did travel back in time.

Hinata, one of her best friends, studied the sign with her large, strangely pearl coloured eyes. "That would be pretty cool," She said, "If we really did go back in time four hundred years ago." Sakura smiled, knowing that Hinata would have had the same thought as her.

Tenten, her other best friend, kissed her teeth and patted one of her two brown, Chinese-styled hair buns. "Too bad it's just a theme park." She finished, before fixing her brown eyes back onto the coach.

But it wasn't a theme park, strictly speaking, redirected Sakura, it was only a rebuilding. The Konoha Historical Experience had been built on the site of a genuine original settlement, but she decided not to say so out loud. She didn't want to sound like a snob or a nerd.

"It's just stupid education disguised as a good time, that's all this is." Ino spat out, angry cerulean eyes scanning the area, because to put it simply, she was pissed. Very. Not only because she was going to miss her manicure appointment, but because she had to get up _extra_ early, just so she'd come to this stupid trip! She flicked her long, blonde high ponytail back before crossing her arms and pouting like a child.

Sakura thought that the only thing missing was the childish stomping and tantrum.

"Hey, quit complaining. At least you're getting out of the maths test." Grumbled Tenten. She wasn't too eager about this trip either.

"So are you!" Pointed out Ino.

"Yeah, and I don't mind missing tests, but I do mind missing my karate practice. They were going to show us how to use weapons!" said Tenten, balling her fists and lashing out with one foot at a passing fly.

Sakura had to roll her eyes, whereas Hinata just smiled. No one would have ever pictured her, fragile, shy; Hinata as a 64 palms master, a Hyuuga clan sport passed on for generations to only a selected few.

"Well, im looking forward to It." smiled Hinata. Just then, Iruka sensei, their History teacher, stepped forward and clapped his hands. "Line up class, line up!" He called. The four friends shuffled into a rough line with the rest of their history class.

"Are you looking forward to this youth, Sakura, Tenten?" Said Gai Sensei, or as Tenten rudely liked to call him, 'Gay-sensei'. Gai was the Hidden Leafs High school sports teacher. He had largest eyebrows Sakura had ever seen, and though he was only 30 years old, he boasted on about youth and did strenuous acts that made him seem at least 10 years physically younger. Tenten called him 'Gay-Sensei' because he wore this ridiculously tight green spandex suit. He didn't even wait for an answer, not like he was going to get one in the first place, as he moved along the line to torture another unfortunate being.

"Now everybody, the park is quiet big, so if you get lost or separated from your friends, just make your way back to the main entrance. There are plenty of people and signs there to help you out." Spoke Iruka.

"Like, aren't we old enough to figure that out ourselves? We're 16 for god's sake!" Ino whispered to Sakura, who only shrugged in return.

Tenten grinned. "Hey if I get lost, I'm just going to look for Sakura's hair in the distance!" She laughed, followed by Ino and Hinata.

"Hey! At least mine is worth looking for!" She remarked, self-consciously patting her bubble gum pink hair.

"Don't stand near any bushes Tenten," Laughed Hinata, "We'll never find you!"

Said girl looked down at her army jeans and olive coloured tank top. "It's just in case I want to slip away." She said, smiling mischievously.

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><p>Iruka Sensei produced a group of tickets at the desk and they pushed their way on through the turnstile. When they came out on the other side, it really did seem like they had gone back in time- apart from the tarmac tiles and the piped music.<p>

From what they could tell, they were standing at one end of a street lined with wooden buildings. Some were log cabins with sharply pointed roofs; some looked more complex with walls made of planks and boards. Each house stood on its own, surrounded by a small wooden fence which enclosed an area that seemed more like a miniature farmyard than a yard. Chickens pecked at the ground and pigs rooted around for food. Sakura suddenly smiled.

"Hey Ino, it's you in the past generation." She smirked, pointing at the group of pigs. Following her gaze, Tenten and Hinata laughed while Ino just gave her a sarcastic look.

"Oh ha ha, at least my forehead isn't the size of Argentina." She replied. It was her turn to laugh now.

"Come on guys; let's go check these places out." Suggested Hinata, before war broke lose. They followed their classmates and teacher through the path, taking uninterested glances at their surroundings.

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><p>To Sakura, this didn't feel like a town. It felt like someone had just cleared a small area out of the wilderness and dropped a community into it, but she soon realised this was basically what must have happened here 400 years ago.<p>

There were lots of actors posing as settlers in authentic period costumes. Most of the men wore three cornered hats, long coats and rough breeches, whereas the women were wearing bonnets and long puffy skirts with blouses. Some of the actor's clothes were shabby and stained though, to add effect.

To her, the clothes didn't seem one bit comfortable, but the actors made it seem like it was normal everyday fashion. They all bustled around, seeming to be busy with 'their lives', though one or two would look over and nod or smile. Obviously it wasn't as real as it would have been but Sakura still thought that it was missing…something.

Iruka Sensei came to an abrupt stop as he suddenly called out "Ok everyone, you will all be getting activity sheet, so put yourselves into groups of three or four and look around at your leisure. I want all of you back here at the main entrance in 2 hours, no more. Well, enjoy yourselves!" He instructed.

The class started to split themselves up, scattering in different directions, while the girls decided to check out the centre of the town first. The closer they got to the middle, the more Sakura thought it looked like a conventional, olden time's village, and her thoughts slowly started to change. Maybe at first glance, it didn't look that great, but the more time you spent exploring the village, the more convincing it looked.

At the very centre of the village was a square of grass with a duck pond in the middle, where 3 winding streets connected. It was strange really, to see so many people working, with no cars or light bulbs or electricity, no phone lines, nothing.

As Sakura turned her gaze around, she saw 2 long poles stretching out above everything else. After a slight glance, she realised that they belonged to a sailing ship.

Hinata was reading the guide book. "Hey, they've even got a harbour area with its own replica of the Konoha ship." She said.

She peered over Hinata's shoulder as she stared at the map of the village, given with the guide book.

"This place is kind of neat," Ino said though with grudging admiration, "I can almost believe it's real."

"The real thing would have been much dirtier, since there was no hot water for washing and people would have stank and would have been followed around by fleas." Pointed out Tenten.

Ino made a face filled with utter disgust. "Ewww! Im so happy I'm in the 21st century!" She exclaimed.

With a roll of their eyes, they started to wander up the street and followed a noise which sounded like two pieces of metal being smashed together. It turned out to be just like what Sakura had suspected; a blacksmith.

The way his muscles bulged underneath his skin, sweat soaking his face and hair, streaming his blue eyes, all looked so real. Then slowly but surely, a shape emerged. It was as if something was buried deep within the glowing lump of metal and it was determined to make its way to the surface. It gradually thinned out, and took over the form of a long, curved blade, dangerously pointy at the tip.

The blacksmith picked it up with a pair of tongs and plunged in to a bucket of water. Gouts of steam burst from the bucket, making the air smoky and damp. If Sakura hadn't seen it with her own two eyes, she would have said it was machine made.

Then someone began to clap, and soon, the rest of the crowd joined in. It looked so real, so delicate, so –

"And that, young squires, is how an honest man makes a good plough. Next demonstration will be held at 3 o'clock." He ushered the crowd out and pulled a very modern safety shutter down over the front of the smithy.

"Whoa, what a way to kill the moment." Muttered Ino, and from the light frowns on her friends faces, she knew they thought the same too, except for Tenten's expression as she looked as though an angel had just dropped down from heaven.

"Did you see the way he made that sword? Hey, do you think if I asked him nicely, he'll make one for me too? Or at least teach me how to make one?" Squealed Tenten in excitement, her love for weaponry becoming clearly evident.

"Sorry Tens, but I doubt it." Hinata tried to sound sympathetic, but she failed miserably and giggled instead, earning a frown from Tenten.

"Come on, all that demonstrating made me thirsty! Let's go to the café, I'm sure I saw one on the map." Whined Ino. They all agreed that a café was a good idea and set off towards to it. As they walked, Sakura spotted a tree so large she though it was fake.

"I wonder if that tree is real." Sakura asked thoughtfully, looking at a large oak tree that stood a few metres away from them.

The others looked at her oddly.

"Well, it's not going to be plastic, if that's what you mean." Said Ino, slowly.

"No, I meant if it was here, 400 years ago" She corrected, laughing at her friends comment.

By now they were quiet close to it and Sakura had to tilt her head right back to be able to see all of it.

"It looks pretty ancient" Added in Tenten, moving away from the path to examine the tree. "And oak tree's live for hundreds of years. It was probably here before the first settlers even arrived."

When they were almost underneath it, and Sakura started looking around the tree, to see if there was a sign anywhere, like you sometimes see with things saying ' This tree was brought here by so- and- so' kind of type.

Well, there was certainly something there, 5 of them actually, sticking out from underneath the ground. She looked a little closer, and saw, to her surprise, that they were small gravestones.

"Ino, look out!" she cried, but it was too late. Ino had already walked in front of one of them, right over the grave itself, actually. Ino looked back at Sakura curiously. Then her eyes followed Sakura's pointing finger to the gravestone and she jumped of the grave with a shriek.

Tenten and Hinata hooted with laughter.

"It's probably fake Ino!" Hinata laughed, while Tenten imitated Ino's leaping and gave a shriek of her own.

"Ooh" she squealed, "It's a haunted grave stone".

Ino looked annoyed. "Cut it out guys." She whined, frowning at her friends.

"Actually, it looks pretty real," Said Sakura, bending down curiously to read what one said, though to her disappointment found that years of rain and wind had eaten away the stone, making it difficult to read what was written on them. "This one says SASUKE UC..IHA, though I think I can make out an H for the second name so it's Sasuke…Uchiha. That's it? No date or epitaph?" She asked confused. Curious, Tenten and Hinata bent down to read the others.

"Well… N….UT.. ..ZU..AKI. It's not that clear so I can't really read the full name, but Im sort of guessing it's something like Naputo Uzunaki or Uzumaki from the way the letters have been engrained. And like the one you read Sakura, there's no date on this one either." Hinata read, gazing curiously at the grave.

To everyone's surprise, Ino also found herself reading some. "This one says…SAI, just Sai. And the one next to it is SHI..A….RU N..RA." She pointed out, shrugging her shoulders.

Sakura looked up to Ino. "Well, what do you think it says?" She asked in anticipation.

Ino shrugged again. "How should I know forehead? The letters have practically blended in with the stone!"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura groaned in frustration, before pushing Ino away from the gravestone and read it herself. "Ugh! Move over pig, let me see…It says Shikamaru Nara you idiot! Anyone could have read that! The letters look like someone carved them yesterday!"

"That's only because you like this sort of crap. You should know that no-one really cares-"

"Erm, guys, I think you _really_ need to see this one" Tenten interrupted, and from the way that she had sounded, Sakura suspected that it wasn't going to be something good.

"Well Tenten… what does yours say?" She asked as she walked up towards said girl.

"Neji Hyuuga." she replied, confused eyes staring up to meet the wide ones of her friends.

"An H-Hyuuga?" Stuttered Hinata, eyes wide in shock and disbelief although it quickly changed into slight anger and denial too. She quickly walked up to the grave herself and took a look. "But that's impossible! All of the Hyuuga's were buried in the Hyuuga Cemetery. I've seen them all with my own eyes! I've even studied them all and Neji Hyuuga has never been mentioned." She explained, before bending down to re-check that the name on the grave was actually Neji Hyuuga, and to her incredulity, found that it clearly did say 'Hyuuga'. "They're fake. They have to be fake-" But she was suddenly interrupted by Ino.

Said girl pushed past Hinata and Sakura and moved Tenten away from the gravestone before squatting down in front it and with calculating eyes, studied it for a while. Sakura raised her eyebrow in question. What on earth was she doing?

Tenten yelped in surprise before quickly standing up and glared at Ino. "What the hell Ino! If you wanted me to move over, you could have just asked me to okay! No need to be-"

"Shush," Ino cut in again. Tenten opened her mouth to retort, but Ino beat her to it again. "There's writing on these, right at the bottom. I've checked all of the other graves and they all have them. It's small but still readable. I think it's that…what did you call it again Sakura?" she asked.

Without saying a word, Sakura rushed over towards Ino and decided to read the writing herself. Skimming the grave stone quickly, she came to a sudden halt at the bottom. "I…I don't think it's an epitaph at all. It reads _'Here lay the Vampyr children_'. Its spelt lik R" She said in a confused tone.

"Vampyr?" They all questioned simultaneously in reply.

"Isn't that the same thing as _Vampire_?" Ino pointed out.

"Sure is kid." Answered an unfamiliar voice from behind them.

They all shrieked in terror and self-consciously huddled up close to each other before turning around to face the newcomer.

As they turned around, they saw that it was actually an old women in a black skirt and bonnet; one of the local guides. Her face was wrinkled and her lips puckered over toothless gums.

"'Tis not a tale for you young girl's ears," she continued, putting an act with wild, staring eyes and an accent so thick it was hard to understand. "Terrible they were, the Vampire children. Strangers from beyond, blood sucking demons, so the tales say." She put particular emphasis on the way she pronounced her 'R's', Sakura realised.

"Right old lady," Said Ino, "Do I look 4 years old to you? I hope these 'Vampire Children' knew how to throw good parties, because I sure need one!" The friends laughed.

"Ah, ye may mock, young squire! But even now, their dark powers live on. Sometimes they may be seen about the town, late at night, when the sky is dark, though none dare to approach them. Sometimes you can hear the screaming of our folk as they-"

"So why are their graves here? What is a 'Hyuuga' doing here?" Hinata interrupted impatiently, something not like her. Sakura guessed she was still shocked from the whole ancestral family thing. "What's wrong with putting them in a church yard?"

"What a strange question, young miss! Bury them among the decent folk of our town? Nay! They are lucky they have a grave at all- out here, alone, so that good people could rest easy."

"Yeah, whatever," Said Ino. She looked down at the ground she was standing on, and suddenly grinned as an idea came to her head.

"_I, hear you heart, cry for love but then you act like there's no room room for me, or anyone though disturbed is all I see…" _

Tenten grinned as she joined in the dance and the two laughed while they continued singing. Hinata and Sakura couldn't help but giggle too.

The women threw her hands up and said "Aye, well, don't be surprised when they come and visit ya," she told them, and then she suddenly reverted to modern English as she walked off. "And don't forget the gift shop before you leave."

"Wait! I have a question," Sakura suddenly called out. The women slightly turned around to face Sakura, signalling for her to continue. "How many of these graves are there?"

The women looked at Sakura for a while, before switching back into her character and said "We don't know , but Hidden Leaf has 5 and the Village Hidden by Sand has some too." Then she turned around.

Sakura watched her walk away. Just before she reached the end of the road, she turned back and called "Oh, by the way, those graves happen to be real. It was left from the original settlement."

The smile vanished from Ino's face as she leaped off the grace with another squeal, which sparked another round of laughter from Tenten and Hinata, this time without Sakura joining in.

"What the hell is the 'Village Hidden by Sand'? Is it some sort of made up place?" Ino asked, diverting the girl's attention away from her.

"It was the original name given to Sunagakure," Answered Hinata, "Just like Village Hidden in the Leaves is the original name for Konoha."

"But that's not important. The important thing here is that these 'Vampire' graves are real, and there are more of them." Said Sakura, taking time to look at all the graves again before focusing her attention back onto her friends.

Tenten shrugged. "So what are you trying to say, that these 'Vampire Children' existed?"

"I don't know." Sakura answered.

"Well I still think they're fake. Vampires don't exist, they never have and they never will. It's all crap!" Said Ino.

"Yeah but you don't know that for sure Ino. You never know, maybe they did." Hinata suggested thoughtfully.

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><p><strong>Well, that was the first chapter. How was it? Did it give you that sensation that makes you want to read more? Did it, DID IT?<strong>

**Well, I had fun writing it and yes, it has been edited as well, so please take your time to tell me what you think, it won't take up much of your time.**

**Review! I need reviews like a human needs water…well I want reviews but that's not the point! The point is…REVIEW!**

**But seriously, your comments matter to me because I want to see is this is worth my time and I want to know how to improve. I'll accept all comments except for flames, because you can always give me some constructive criticism instead.**

**And the little song that Tenten was singing is actually Heart Vacancy by The Wanted. Check it out, it's pretty nice.**

**Muchos love, xx-Ash-xx-1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Midnight Vampires: No Escape**

**Hello earthlings (and other outer space beings if you are somehow reading this?) How are you? Im sorry I didn't update sooner, but I want to see how well this story went first. And this is sure going well! I was so happy and surprised by the amount of reviews, so…THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Kisses and hugs shall be bestowed upon you!**

**Ahem…any ways, what are you waiting for?**

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><p>.<p>

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**Chapter 2: Stranger danger**

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><p>Confusion was something Sakura never enjoyed feeling. She didn't like the sense of being un-sure. And she definitely did not like the idea of supernaturalism; she was a scientist and so everything could be logically explained through science. At least, that's what she had learned. But now, she couldn't find a single reasonable explanation to what she had seen earlier. Well, a scientific reason any ways.<p>

'Vampyr Children?' she thought to herself, brows furrowing neatly together. Thankfully for her, there was always Ino to break her out of her muddled thoughts.

"Come on," the loud blonde muttered, "I want to get those drinks!" She whined, now a usual habit that the girls were used to.

Finding something amusing yet also distracting with Ino's previous words, Sakura smirked smugly, a mean thought running through her head. Ino suddenly glared back in combat, almost knowingly. "What are you thinking of?" the blonde pondered, only to receive a bigger smirk from Sakura as a reply.

"I thought pigs could last a couple of minutes without food or water. Guess I was wrong." The girls laughed while Ino glared even harder.

"It's ok; I know that your large water tank a.k.a forehead is probably dehydrating now, we'll be sure to fill it up when we get to the café." They laughed even harder at Ino's comment.

"Oooh, someone's getting cranky because she was laughed at earlier!" Snickered Sakura, replaying Ino's previous incident with the tombstones.

"Cut it out Sakura! Seriously, it's old now! Anyways, are we getting those drinks, or not?" She asked, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips. When the laughter died out, the others turned around with a nod and started walking towards the café. Except for Sakura.

She stayed for a moment longer, looking at the headstones and started wondering about the 'Vampyr Children'. _So the graves were real_! She thought. _Not reconstructed, like the rest of the town_. She slowly walked after Ino, thinking that she would borrow the guide book off Hinata to see if it said anything about the graves. Who had the Vampyr Children been? Probably some special needs kids or children with some sort of illness that the seventeenth century hadn't been able to cope with, she figured. Or maybe, they were just children that nobody liked. Poor things.

A shiver ran down her spine and Sakura, like Ino, was suddenly glad she was living in the 21st century. But she also felt a pang of guilt in her heart. Maybe Ino and Tenten shouldn't have danced on the graves. Maybe, just maybe, the Vampyr children really were Vampires.

"Yeah right." She muttered to herself, suddenly feeling stupid, and broke into a run to catch up with the others, who were almost at the café now.

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><p>The building stood on small piles of stone on its own, next to a tarmac path that led round the edge of the common. There was a board in one window advertising its prices and a row of wooden benches outside. It was the only building on this side of the common, but you could still hear that annoying piped music faintly in the background.<p>

As Sakura caught up with her friends, a strong and icy breeze suddenly whistled past them, whipping her hair forwards and into her eyes. "Ow!" She exclaimed, while Ino and Hinata squeaked in shock. She heard Tenten curse under her breathe, as the wind blew a cloud of dust over them and a thundery rumble sounded in the distance.

Hinata put her hand on the café door and pushed it open. "Sounds like there's a storm coming" She said, "We should probably get inside. Aargh!" She broke off with a cry as a flash of incredibly white light lit up the day. For a moment, all any of them could see were strange shapes that swam in front of their vision. It was like someone had just set of a strong camera flash right in front of their faces.

Hinata stumbled in through the door, Ino followed not so long after and the others fell in behind her. Sakura got up and rubbed her bruised behind from the impact of the fall. It felt like someone had just pushed her in forcefully. They all stood in the entrance and blinked, waiting for their normal sight to be restored.

"What was that?" Asked Tenten, "Lightning?"

The door was still wide open, so Hinata turned around and squinted up at the sky. "I guess so. It was super- bright though," She said. "There must be a real vicious storm coming this way."

Sakura looked up at the sky. It was a clear blue above their heads, but she could see a few ominous-looking clouds away in the distance.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there?" Barked a woman.

"Come on," Said Sakura, "We're blocking the entrance." They all stepped forward into the café, and then stopped again.

"Ok," Ino announced, still fixing her hair. "This. Is taking the historical experience way too far." She said in a way that showed she was in utter disbelief.

And for once, Sakura had to agree with Ino. She had to admit, that she hadn't been expecting the inside of the café to match the historical look of the outside. But it did. Instead of a modern, hygienic tea room, this resembled a dirt hovel. Actors in shabby period costumes sat around, drinking out of pewter pint pots, and puffing on long, thin pipes. The air was heavily tinged with smoke and the only light came through the windows and from the fire that glowed in the old stone fireplace.

Every one of the actors was staring at the four friends, and it wasn't in a welcoming way. Except for one, Sakura noticed. A female, she guessed, though she couldn't really see her full face properly, the hood from her cloak covered her face mid-way. After slight moments, the women got up and walked out of the so called 'café'. Just then another chilly blast of wind whistled in through the door. Sakura shivered.

"Definitely a storm," Tenten said "Come on. We're better of indoors."

There was a rough – hewn table nearby with a bench on either side, so they self-consciously shuffled towards it and sat down. Sakura noticed that the floor was made of bare wooden plank. There were no tiles and no rugs of any kind, and she really, really hoped that the small mouse peeping out of the wall was some kind of puppet.

A woman in a grubby apron stood behind the counter at the other end of the room, glaring suspiciously at them.

"Do you think this café is just for the actors?" Ino muttered, as she glanced around. Sakura saw some of the men meet her gaze with hostile stares or perverted looks. The women stared at them disgustingly and some started to whisper to each other and point towards them. It made her feel sick as her stomach did a series of lurches.

Annoyed by their lack of respect, Tenten quickly looked away. "Maybe it's off limits to us." She said grudgingly.

"No, the guide book definitely said it was for visitors," Hinata insisted, though she didn't sound as sure as she intended to. Lost, lavender eyes searched the Café. She brought her hand behind her head and swept her long, blue-tinted hair to the side before making sure that her block fringe was in place too.

"Maybe the book's out of date." Ino suggested, one elbow propped up onto the table with hand placed under her chin.

"It's this place that's out of date," Sakura said in a low voice, almost a whisper. "It's too real. These people look like they've been wearing their costumes for weeks." She continued.

"They smell like they've been wearing them for weeks too!" Ino put in.

Sakura glanced around and caught a few of the men looking at her and Ino's legs. She mentally slapped herself for wearing shorts this day, out of all days.

She could see what Ino meant. The clothes looked like they had never been washed or ironed, and they weren't dirty by being stained or marked. It was more like years of dirt had been engrained in them. The smelled like they had been washed in sewage water too.

"So will you be wanting anything?" The woman behind the counter demanded.

"Oh, um, yes please," Hinata said. "Could we order some drinks?"

"Aye, you could." The woman replied unsmilingly. She seemed to be waiting for them.

"Do we go to her?" Asked Ino, murmuring.

The woman solved the problem for them by rolling her eyes and coming round the counter. She stood over their table.

"And how can I serve your highness?" She asked, sarcastically. Sakura really didn't like her tone, and her accent was even worse than the old lady's they had met not so long ago.

"Um…" She began nervously. Somehow, she didn't want to ask for a menu. There was absolutely no sign of one anywhere, not even on the window, though she could have sworn she had seen one when they were outside. She looked around at the others. "Lattes?"

One by one they all shrugged and nodded.

"Four Lattes" Sakura told the woman. She got a blank look in return. "Lattes?" the woman asked, sounding bewildered.

"Yes. You know- milk and coffee. Lattes," Sakura repeated hopefully.

"Telling me I know doesn't make it so," The woman said flatly. "We ain't got 'Lattes'."

"Oh god," Said Ino. "Ok. Just regular coffee then please." Now she got a blank look. The woman was also starting to look annoyed.

"Listen Miss. Blondie" she told her. "I don't have time for your games. You can have ale like everyone else or get out."

"Ale?" Tenten repeated incredulously. "You mean beer?"

"Aye," The woman said, as if explaining to an idiot. "Beer."

"B-but do I look old enough for beer?" She stuttered.

"Its' ale, or you can stop wasting my time." She snapped impatiently, hiding a soon to explode growl.

"Look," Started Hinata, "if it's alright with you, we'll just stay here until the storm's finished. We won't take up your time." She tried to reason.

"Storm?" The woman peered past them and looked out of the window "What storm?"

Sakura followed her gaze and couldn't believe what she saw. The sky outside was now completely clear – no clouds anywhere. It certainly didn't look like there was a storm brewing.

"But," Ino objected, "The lightning, that wind…"

Sakura could see that from the woman's expression, they were about to get another scolding. "Look, we'll just go." She said and stood up.

"Aye," The woman agreed. "That may be the best for all of us."

"Geez," Ino started as she clambered up to her feet. "Service with a smile! Maybe you should have a sign saying you only serve booze. That would avoid the confusion."

But the woman was already turning away.

"And Im proud of my blonde hair actually! You're just jealous your hair looks pathetic and greasy! An- MMPHH!" Tenten quickly cut her off by placing a hand over her mouth before Ino could finish her insult. They had already gotten enough scolding for the day.

Before they left, Sakura noticed a charcoal painting on the wall beside the door of five men, and though they weren't drawn clearly, the huge sign clearly read WANTED at the top. At the bottom, it said 'If seen, tell Ms Meir's at her love Inn.' Poor guys, she thought, shuddering.

"Come on. I think my lungs are about to crawl out of my body and die." Said Tenten.

When they turned around and got out, they were still aware of the stares they were getting, now baring into the back of their heads, almost marking themselves there.

* * *

><p>As she took a grateful breath of fresh air, feeling relieved to have escaped the pipe smoke in the café; Sakura noticed that the constant background music had stopped, to her relief.<p>

"Ok," Hinata started saying, "What shall we do now?" She asked.

"Well, Ino and Tenten here can try not to step or dance on any more graves" Sakura remarked with a smile. As she said it, she glanced at the oak tree on the common that sheltered the grave stones. She frowned. It looked a lot smaller than it had done earlier.

"I'll try not to! Wait, im sure that wasn't there before…" Tenten's voice trailed off as she suddenly took notice if her surroundings. She frowned as her gaze set upon the path. Sakura's eyes followed and fell upon what Tenten was looking at, when she suddenly noticed too. She was sure the track had been tarmac before, but now it was just dry earth.

"Enough with this trip," Ino started, "Let's go back now, come on."

They started walking back to the village, across the common, giving the oak tree and the graves a wide berth.

"Hey, look out, Ino!" Hinata warned, just in time to stop Ino from treading into a pile of cowpat.

"Ewww!" Ino exclaimed. "They're everywhere!" She said, looking around.

"And there's why." Said Tenten, pointing. A small herd of cows were wandering about on the common grazing on the grass. The four humans and the herd of cows looked blankly at each other for a moment, before the cows went back to grazing the grass.

"Shouldn't they be in a pen or something?" Asked Hinata.

"They probably wandered free in the old days," Sakura pointed out, "they're just being realistic."

"They can be _too_ realistic." Ino muttered darkly. The little group started walking again, carefully until they reached the end of the main street that led down to the town square. A flock of sheep scattered away in fright at their approach. Or that's what they thought, until they heard _them_.

"There they are! That's them, they're the ones!" At first, the girls thought the group of shouting woman were talking about the wandering sheep and cows. But that soon became a clear mistake.

"Those witches! Put some sort of curse on our men!"

" Look at what they're wearing!"

" I say, Sinful! The devils possessed their souls!" The enraged group of woman shouted, more joining in each time.

"Are they talking about us?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow. They all turned around to stare at the group of women. There were at least a dozen of them, all of different ages and sizes, huddled up together in a hostile manner.

"I don't understand…" Started Hinata.

"Capture the witches! For the sake of our men! Let's burn those four girls!" A fuming lady ordered, a fat finger pointing at each one of them in order.

"Yep, they're definitely on about us. What are they talking about though?" Tenten asked, staring back at the women in a strange manner.

"Let's forget them, they're harmless anyway. Probably just actors, you know?" Insured Sakura. But she wasn't so sure herself in the first place. She turned around and was about to walk away when Ino screamed.

"Oh my god! What do we do? Sakura, they're _running_ towards us! This does not look like acting to me!" Panicked Ino.

Sakura instantly faced the women and to her shock and horror, found that they really were running towards them, more and more joining in as the seconds passed, and all holding different items for weaponry. Many held shovels and farming forks, others held sticks. Some even held long butcher-like knives. Sakura couldn't help but give a scream of her own and the girls soon started panicking.

"Come on then!" Screamed Tenten, "Hurry up and run!" They all sprinted simultaneously. Sakura didn't even understand what was happening. Was this some sort of sick joke the actors were playing on them? Were they trying to make Konoha seem as realistic as possible, just like it would have been in the old days? Because if they were, then this was not funny. No, she was sure that this was taking the experience way too far. This was would be breaking all types of laws. And that's why, she realised, they were running as fast as possible.

Yet even though they were literally sprinting, the more they ran, the closer the woman seemed to get, and the more threatening they seemed. Each passing second lasted an hour. Seeming to notice this, Hinata quickly shouted "We need to run faster guys, or they'll catch up in no time!"

And so they ran faster. How? Sakura didn't even know. All she knew was that the next day her legs were going to ache like hell. After a couple of minutes of running in no direction what so ever, Sakura dared herself to turn around, and to her satisfaction, saw that they had lost the group of woman. But she soon realised that it wouldn't take long until they caught up, so she came up with the only plan she could think of. Hiding. Besides, she knew that they wouldn't be able to run for ever; they were bound to start slowing down. Heck they were now! When they crossed a short, strong bridge, Sakura decided that enough was enough.

"Guys! I can't run any faster and Im starting to slow down already! I even have a stitch! Please, let's just hide for now!" She said, though she continued to run any ways.

"What?!" Tenten exclaimed, "We can't hide; they'll find us! They're not that stupid! My vote is we keep running." She ordered over her shoulder.

"Well what choice do we have when we do slow down?! Please Tenten, we don't have the same athletic strength and stamina as you! And those women looked pretty brutal to me!"

"My sides hurt!" Moaned Hinata.

"And so do my feet!" Complained Ino.

Tenten slowed down, then stopped to catch her breath. Ino and Hinata started gasping for air as the needed oxygen started returning to their aching lungs. Sakura took this time to quickly gaze around her surroundings. It looked like they were in the middle of a park, except this one seemed as though it had never been stepped inside of, never been tended to like most of the parks she has been to.

No, Sakura thought, this wasn't a park. It had too many trees and not enough flowers, the grass was not neatly cut and neither were the bushes, and what looked like a path was barely visible under all of the pieces of broken up twigs and stone that covered the clearing. They were definitely in the woods, if not outside the forest.

But then Sakura became muddled up again, something she had been doing a lot today. How did they get to the forest so quickly? Because, no matter how quick the girls ran, they couldn't have gotten this far in such little time. And how come they hadn't spotted any of their class mates when they were running? Did everyone already leave and they were that late? She remembered Iruka tell them to be back at the entrance after 2 hours. Had 2 hours already passed?

"Ok, we've stopped." Tenten suddenly said, breaking Sakura out of her thoughts for the second time today. "Hinata and Ino… you hide… at the top of …that tree. The branches …are strong, so they could… hold both of you up… and the leaves are way too thick… so you won't be spotted." Tenten said between pants, thin strands of short and long brown hair that had escaped from her once two neatly made buns covered her sweating face.

Nodding their heads in agreement, Ino and Hinata started to climb the tree, a good 10 ft. high. The task, though it wasn't easy, was not that difficult either and they were soon grateful that their parents insisted they all go to summer camp. If it hadn't been for all the strenuous lessons of what they called 'torture' their teacher had given them, then climbing this tree might as well have been impossible.

Sakura started frantically looking around for someplace to hide. She could hear the muffled voices of the angry mob of women getting closer by the second, which only made her panic even more.

"Sakura, the bush! Let's hide in the bush!" Hissed Tenten, pointing at one of the bushes at the far end of the clearing, before she quickly ran towards it. Sakura instantly followed after her, and squashed herself in the bush next to Tenten's and made sure she hid well. Immediately she found that it was a good choice. Beneath the leaves was a small hollow in the ground, and it was full of twigs and dead leaves so that she could burrow right down into it. Lying there, half covered and absolutely still, she felt pretty sure she would be hard to spot.

* * *

><p>Only a few moments later, the crowd of furious woman were upon them, searching for them, trying to seek them out. They slowed down and were walking purposefully as they peered around for wherever the girls might be hiding.<p>

After a long time of searching and failing to spot anyone, one of the women murmured "They probably aren't past our towns boundaries by now, but they could be close, we should go after them and split up, see what we can find."

After taking a few moments to stop and think, one of the women, suggestively the leader said "Aye! Come; let us deal with these witches!" The herd of women all gave a cry similar to the ones heard in a battle and ran back in the opposite direction, past the girls.

When Sakura was sure they were all out of sight, she slowly got out and brushed her clothes, followed by the rest of the girls. A few minutes passed, before Sakura finally decided to speak. "This is not good guys. We can't go back in case someone spots us and now we can't leave the town because that's where the crowd of women are heading, and we don't have a clue where we are. I doubt that the guide book went as far as this place, and we're a good kilometre away from the service booth now." She concluded, a frustrated and shaky sigh escaping her lips.

"I can help." An unfamiliar voice suggested. The girls shrieked in fear and surprise, rapidly turning around in case it was another one of the women again.

"It's ok, I won't hurt, I promise. I just want to help." It was a women's voice, sharp and firm but definitely one that belonged to a female. Her accent, unlike the other posing actors, was much easier to understand and so her choice of words sounded much more…formal. After taking a good look at the lady again, Sakura suddenly recognised something familiar about her.

"Hey, wait a minute. I … I know you! You're that women, at the café! The one that was wearing the cloak that left as soon as we came in!" Announced Sakura.

Smiling, the woman slowly lifted her head up for the girls to see her face. She placed two delicate hands on her hood, hesitating slightly, before gradually pulling it back for the girls to see her face. To their surprise, they found that the woman wasn't much older than them really. Her hair was a honey blonde colour, styled oddly into 4 gravity defying pigtails, and her eyes were a sharp viridian colour. Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Tenten stood in front of her, staring suspiciously at the girl, before looking back at each other in puzzlement.

She smiled lightly, before breaking the awkward silence that had settled between them. "My name is Temari Sabaku, and I would like to help you."

Ino instantly beamed up in hope and in an urgent matter of panic, started blabbing questions at Temari. "Really? You mean you can get us back to the main entrance safely then, right? Because there's these bunches of crazy female actors that are coming after us for some reason!"

Temari stared strangely at Ino. "I don't quite understand what you are trying to tell me. If you are talking about the entrance of the Village, then I can take you there, but if you go back those women will find you again, so it will not be safe." She explained.

"Woah! Not to be rude or anything erm…Temari was your name right? Well, we don't really know you so no matter how much you say you want to help, we can't trust you. Infact, why would you want to help us?" Tenten cut in. She didn't want to intentionally sound rude, but this Temari girl could have been anyone. For all they knew, she could be leading them to a trap. And she'd rather be safe than sorry.

Sakura was glad Tenten was taking lead, because while Ino was acting just like how they all felt, Sakura was afraid of letting her emotions take control of her actions, and that was what Ino was doing.

Temari sighed slightly. "Of course, Im not expecting you to believe me, but I am offering you safety. I can take you somewhere safe until we find a way to take you back through the village without getting noticed. If you stay here now, the women will come back and find you, and then they will burn you alive because they think you are witches."

A pregnant silence lingered in the air. Sakura blinked a couple of times in surprise, while Hinata seemed to be in complete shock. Ino raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Tenten stood with her mouth opening and closing like a fish, before she burst into fits of laughter.

"Haha…Hahahaha! Oh, you got me you know, seriously. Ok, who set you up to trick us?" She said when she finished laughing.

Temari's face suddenly turned serious, all hints of humour leaving her beautiful features. "What part of burned alive do you think is humorous? Do I look like I have the time to be playing tricks?" She hissed. Letting out a cold, icy laugh, Temari turned around walked away.

"Hey, Temari, wait! Where are you going?" Hinata called out. She felt guilty and rude, and that was not the way she had been brought up. Temari did genuinely seem to be trying to help them, yet here they were not only refusing her offer but also making a mockery out of her. And she knew it insulted Temari greatly, she could tell by the way she let out that emotionless laugh and by the way she glared after Tenten made her comment.

"You were a waste of my time and breath. There is no point in trying to help people like you. Im leaving." Temari answered, still walking away.

Sakura and Hinata shared quick glances, before looking over at Ino and Tenten. It was true, they did feel guilty. And quite harsh too. Without waiting for someone to say something, Sakura and Hinata quickly ran up to Temari. Ino let out a frustrated grunt before running after them, then turned around and told Tenten to come too. Said girl rolled her eyes and walked after them.

Sakura quickly caught up to Temari and blocked her path, only to be merely pushed aside by Temari.

"Temari wait!" Hinata called out again, and this time Temari didn't need to say anything. She turned around and gave them the coldest glare they had ever seen. It was enough to send anyone away, but Sakura knew that if this woman was willing to help them before, then she couldn't have changed her mind so quickly.

"We need help. Your help. We're lost and confused and we don't know where we are or where to go. Please help us." Sakura blurted, her begging eyes filled with determination yet fright as well.

She didn't know if it was because of what she had said, or because of the desperation she had shown, but Temari's featured instantly softened into pity.

"Im sorry for laughing at you earlier Temari, but I think you've misunderstood the situation we're in. What I'm…What we're trying to say," Corrected Tenten, "Is that those women were just actors, you know? I mean obviously 400 years ago if we were seen dressed like this," She gestured to her and her friend's attire, "then people would have thought we were witches."

Temari's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What do you mean by '400 years ago'? And why on earth, may I add, are you wearing that?" She pointed at their clothing

The girls looked at each other, this time muddled up in their own thoughts. Was this woman mad? Maybe she's high, because they did see her at a bar more or less not so long ago, or even worse, maybe she was trying take them somewhere. Well whatever she was trying to do, Sakura decided that maybe it really was best to not approach her.

"Listen erm…Temari, we really appreciate you trying to help us but maybe we should just call our parents or the school and someone will come and collet us. If it really gets out of hand then we'll just have to call the police, ok?" Sakura proposed. At the mention of the police, Temari's eyes widened in fear and shock.

"W-why would you want to get the police?" She stuttered, palms out and hands shaking in front of her body defensively. She said it almost in a whisper, like the very mention of the police was a crime, as if the surrounding tree's had ears.

Hinata raised an eyebrow in question. "Why, is there a problem with calling the police? You seem really scared Temari, is everything alright?" She asked.

Temari slightly nodded, taking a deep breath in in order to regain composure before putting her hood back on and turning around. "I…This really was a mistake. Since you do not want my help, there is no need for me to stay here any longer. " She took a few steps forward before Ino suddenly stopped her.

"Wait! Didn't my friend Sakura here just beg you to help us?! And now you're turning our offer down? Look, we'll just call our parents and since you obviously know your way around maybe you can help us back to the main entrance ok? Or at least help us find a place with a signal because there's no damn one here." Ino said, waving her hands around for emphasis.

Temari stopped in the middle of her tracks, allowing a few seconds of silence to pass, before she spoke again. "I'll give you no more than 5 minutes to decide on whether you want my help or not. After that, I must get going."

"Ok, that's fine with us," Ino declared. She dug into her bag before retrieving her phone and tried to switch it on, only to find that it wouldn't turn on. She tapped it against her palm a few times and tried to switch it on again, only for it to stay off.

"Ugh, stupid phone won't turn on! I think the battery's dead," Ino groaned in dissatisfaction. She threw her phone back into her bag and crossed her arms in anger, like a toddler.

Sakura rolled her eyes in exasperation before retrieving her own phone out. "Honestly Ino, what's the point of having your phone with you if it has no charge. Maybe next time you should-" Sakura stared at her own phone in puzzlement. "What the-! I had it on charge all night last night! Why isn't it switching on!"

Hinata and Tenten instantly took their own phones out, and to their incredulity, found that neither of their phones would switch on either.

Temari gazed at them in horror and astonishment. "What…What in the world _are_ they?" She questioned, not removing her eyes away from the phones.

"Oh, these? They're mobile phones. Don't you have one?" Tenten questioned, almost hopefully.

"Obviously not if she's never seen one Tenten." Ino pointed out obviously, but then she realised something. "Wait, you mean you have no idea what these are?" She repeated in shock.

Instead of rolling her eyes at her friend's stupidity, Sakura only watched Temari behind calculating eyes. Temari was a strange girl, she thought. She dressed weirdly, she drank and spoke like she was educated in the best schools, yet she sounded like she'd never worn shorts or tank tops and had never seen a mobile phone before. Maybe Temari had awfully strict parents who didn't want their daughter getting into the 'wrong crowd', so they'd never brought her a mobile phone or a single pair of shorts before. Poor girl, she thought, instantly feeling sympathetic towards Temari.

"I really need to get going now." Temari said, sounding desperate and afraid, like they had all just caught the plague or something.

"We're coming with you." Sakura said, following Temari.

She tensed up at the mention the girls coming with her, but continued walking anyways. "Are you sure about that?" She asked, still walking.

"Just, where are you going to be taking us?" Asked Ino, still walking behind Temari.

"My house. I'll give you food and shelter until we can find a way take you back without being recognised." She replied bluntly.

"Oh, that's good. Maybe our phones will turn on at you house then, or we might find someone who might be kind enough to let us use theirs." Said Tenten.

"How far away is your home Temari?" Hinata asked.

"Some distance. It will take us a day or two to get there at this speed." She answered, as if it wasn't a problem at all.

"W-wait, what!" Ino exclaimed.

"What do you mean a day or two!?" Tenten repeated.

"I mean a day or two when I say a day or two." Temari answered, sounding quite annoyed.

"Woah, so we're travelling by foot?" Sakura exclaimed.

Temari sighed loudly, making it evident to them that she was very annoyed. "Yes, by foot. Now are there any more questions?"

Hinata stopped. "Sorry Temari, but I can't leave Konoha. My family are going to be worried about me. I think Im going to go back."

Temari paused in her tracks and turned around. "Do as you please," She said, "but if you listen hard enough, you'll come to realise that if you go back now, you shall become roast human."

Hinata's eyes widened in horror. Sakura, Ino and Tenten stayed silent and stood completely still. _If you listen hard enough, _Temari had said. And true to her word, the distant shouts of the angry women were getting closer and closer. When Sakura strained her hearing as much as she could, she could make out what the women were saying. '…_Witch, Witch, let us burn the Witch, Witch…'_

"We don't have a choice do we?" Said Tenten, her voice sounding pained and distressed.

* * *

><p>They travelled in silence for a full hour. After quickly introducing themselves, the girls had ran for most of the way, excluding the small breaks they took every now and then, until they were deep into the forest where, they simply walked instead. The sun was still burning brightly above them, so they had enough heat and light to see where they were going, but they knew that sooner or later, dusk would fall upon them.<p>

From what Temari had explained to them during their walk, they found out that she had discovered a secret way in and out of the village, without being spotted or stopped at the border gates. It was the journey; or more specifically, the route that they had to take that was difficult.

" After we have left this forest, there is a small town that we shall make a stop in in order to get some supplies. We can easily pass through that town, but then we have to travel through another forest, though it is much smaller than this one. It is when we reach the path across the bridge that we finally face trouble.

"It is a very narrow and long stone bridge without any supports to hang on to, though I assure you that it is strong enough to hold us, so do not worry about that. Once we have crossed the bridge, we pass through another small town. My house is beyond that town."

They would have complained, but thought better against it. The came to a halt when the forest path ended and instead where 2 different split clearings, one towards the left, the other right.

"We're travelling east first. This way." She pointed ahead and started to walk. Giving the area one last glance, the girls turned around and followed. They hoped this wasn't going to be a big mistake. Because, after all, they were always taught one, important lesson:

Never talk to strangers.

* * *

><p><strong>Ta-da! Chapter 2 is finally done! Be sure to wait for chapter 3 though, its a long one and its filled with surprises!<strong>

**If you have any questions then don't hesitate to ask when you review! **

**Much Love**

**xx-Ash-xx-1**


	3. Chapter 3

**Midnight Vampires: No Escape**

**Ok everyone, before you all take your swords out, just think about this: 1. You can listen to a whole list on why I didn't update earlier 2. Or you could just forget and move on, and if still want explanations, tell me when you review!**

* * *

><p>.<p>

.

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**Chapter 3: Hide and seek**

* * *

><p>Dusk was closing in, the moon already replacing the setting sun. After Temari's short explanation on where they were going and what they were doing, they had decided that their main priority was to reach the first town that Temari had mentioned.<p>

Yet even though Temari repeatedly assured them that they were getting closer to their destination, their surroundings told them another story. It was just trees after trees, nothing seemed to have changed. Not like they could tell what their surroundings were, not in this dark anyways.

"Temari…how much more…till we reach the borders?" Ino panted, still running at the same time. She was not used to running so much, so to say she was tired would have been an understatement. Sweat formed on her clear forehead and her legs begged for a break. Any minute now and she was sure she would collapse. Infact, she was surprised she hadn't done so sooner.

She wondered in amazement at how Temari wasn't even sweating yet she was running much faster than they had first anticipated was possible after such a long time. While she and her friends were literally sprinting, Temari looked like she was merely taking a light run in the park! _But then again, maybe Temari was just used to this_, Ino thought to herself.

"If we stay at this pace, then we will reach the village in five minutes, but if we take a break, then at least 10 minutes. We can stop if it pleases you," Temari suggested.

"Yeah…let's take a break…before I die!" Agreed Ino. They eventually slowed down and came to a stop, gasping for air. Sakura, seeing as how her dream was to become a medic, was the first one to control her breathing.

"You shouldn't breathe from your mouth when you're running; it's really bad for your health and you end up with a burning feeling in your lungs. Try and breathe from your nose," She thoughtfully suggested.

Tenten whipped her head around towards Sakura and gave her a very harsh glare. "Sakura, this is me being very nice. Shut. Up."

Lifting her hands up in defence, Sakura answered with "Ok, ok. No need to get so mad, Im just doing this for your health. Geez, you'd think people would be thankful!"

But she sighed anyways and retrieved a full water bottle out of her bag. Ino stared at her with big, needy eyes, while Tenten only pushed past Hinata and Ino and reached for the bottle herself. Sakura allowed her to have it, and sighed as she watched Ino and Tenten argue over the bottle. Hinata, being the kind person she was, offered her own bottle of water to Sakura after she had drank from it. Sakura smiled and sipped a little, and was suddenly aware of how dry her mouth and throat really were, so she took a big gulp instead and sighed in content as the liquid made sweet contact with her tongue and throat. Sakura then thought of Temari, and how thirsty she must have been, so out of respect and kindness, offered her the water bottle.

Temari stared at the bottle of water in Sakura's extended hand like it had the word 'POISON' written all over it. She had never seen something like it before. It was see through, and the liquid did look like water, so maybe its container was foreign. She guessed that if they had drank from it, then why wouldn't it be safe enough for her to drink from it too?

Sakura watched Temari as she hesitantly accepted the bottle. She stared at the bottle for a bit longer, probably deciding whether to drink from it or not, Sakura presumed. She sighed and decided to simply tell Temari to drink from it, it wasn't harmful.

She was happy when she saw the satisfaction in Temari's eyes as she took a few sips of water from the bottle, and was even happier when Temari gave her a full-hearted smile. "Thank you, it seems I was thirstier than I thought" She sheepishly said, cheeks flushing up a little in embarrassment.

Sakura laughed, before she returned the bottle back to Hinata, and then went to go and sort out Ino and Tenten, who were still arguing over her bottle.

Incredulously, Temari stared at them from a distance, eyeing them carefully. She took notice of every single detail about them, from their looks to their personality. She finally came to an abrupt conclusion- these girls were either brain damaged or enjoyed befriending strangers. They were different. She liked different. It had been a very long time since she'd met people like them. Travelling with them was…fun. It felt like an adventure, and she liked it. Their parents must be very rich as well, if they are able to afford foreign luxuries such as small, transparent water containers, she thought.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she suddenly realised that they were wasting precious time, and if that they didn't make it to the town soon, then they would be travelling in darkness till morning. Deciding to cut in, she coughed a few times, loudly, so that their attention was fixated back on to her.

"Erm… If you have finished, I think we should be going now. We are losing time and if we stay at this pace then it will take us another day or so until we reach my home." She commented.

"Another day?" They shrieked out disbelievingly.

She nodded her head. "Another day."

"B-but you said it's only going to take _one_ day, not two!" Ino exclaimed.

"I did, but that was because I was travelling on my own. It seems as though I wasn't able calculate my timings properly this time, since it really does not seem like you can run for that long without stopping."

Sakura gazed at her suspiciously. "Hang on, how come you're not tired? Any normal person would have been exhausted by now, if not collapsed. Im thankful we have quite strong stamina but yours is just, unnatural." She trailed off.

Temari had a bewildered look on her face, before she quickly shook it off and said, "I guess it is…come on, let's not waste time on behalf of my concern. I assure you im fine and well enough to lead you to safety. Even though I look young, Im more than capable, trust me." And with that she smiled, turned around, and sped off, not waiting for the others to follow. She knew they would though. When she they weren't looking, she scowled and clenched her jaw. '_I need to be more careful around them_' she thought to herself, so she slowed her pace down a little.

* * *

><p>The rest of the journey was travelled in complete silence again, apart from the breaking of twigs and the crunching of leaves under their feet, or the odd owl hooting every now and then and the noise of annoying night crickets. But that wasn't enough for Sakura. She was never one for silence. True, she enjoyed it, especially after the constant chatter of her loud-mouth best friend Ino, but right now, she wanted anything but silence.<p>

And that's why she was more than glad when they finally reached the small town. It was quite a strange looking one though, Sakura had to say. Not much larger than the area used for the Konoha Historical experience, she thought. Infact, they looked quite similar to be honest. All of the buildings were mostly wooden rectangular ones, and the ground was just dirt and stone. There were no gardens or yards, and the only sign of life she could see was the tree that stood about 20 metres away in the centre of the town, and even that had no leaves.

It was so empty, Sakura noticed, which was why it looked so eerie. There wasn't a single being outside, probably because they were all locked up inside their homes, Sakura thought. A chilly blast blew past the girls and Sakura swore to herself that she would never go out in shorts again if she didn't have a weather check of the full day before hand.

"This is the town?" Ino asked in disbelief, staring back at Temari.

"Looks more like a cemetery to me," muttered Tenten to Ino.

Temari didn't answer, she just stood really still in the middle of the dry path and eyed the buildings suspiciously, in a way that told Sakura that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong, Temari? Is this not the right town?" Hinata asked in concern.

"No, this is the town. Nothing is the matter," Temari answered slowly, in a way that made her sound as if she wasn't so sure herself. "Come on, follow me, we might stay here for the night. We need some rest any way," Temari quickly put in, though she didn't start walking in any particular direction, she stayed stood in the same position and eyed the town some more.

Tenten, oblivious to Temari's strange behaviour, couldn't help but let out a 'whoop' at the mention of sleep. Sighing in relief, Ino said "Thank god, finally!"

But Sakura knew that Temari had lied, and so did Hinata. The two stayed silent and watched Temari carefully, and then looked back at each other. They knew something was definitely not right, they just didn't know what it was, and that bothered them.

Still, they couldn't say no to an offer of rest and food. Maybe they'll stay the night at a hotel, one with a telephone line where they could call someone to come and pick them up and take them back home safely. After all, there was no need to travel so far to Temari's house when they could easily get help now. Anyways, she was freezing and the urge for some warmth was killing her. If she said anything now, Temari might just walk straight through the town and continue travelling, and if that happened, Sakura was sure they would freeze to death instead.

They followed Temari carefully through the village, gazing shadily at their surroundings. Sakura thought she had seen someone in the shadows, a silhouette of a little child, but decided to quickly shake the creepy feeling out of her. She was letting the moon create shapes and play tricks on her mind, that's all. But she didn't sound as convincing as she wanted to. The fact that the town was so dead didn't help her control her fear either.

She hadn't realised they'd stopped walking until she'd walked right into Ino's back. "Woah, watch it forehead." Ino said, though she didn't sound as insulting as she intended. Her voice was slightly shaky. _Probably from fear too_, Sakura guessed.

"Sorry, pig, I wasn't paying attention. I didn't scare you though did I?" Sakura mocked, smiling innocently when Ino glared at her. She was glad for her and Ino's bickering, at least it took her mind of this town a little.

"Stay out here for a little while, Im just going to talk to this inn keeper and see if she would allow us to sleep here for the night." Temari said. Just as she placed a hand onto the door, Tenten abruptly stopped her.

"Wait, why can't we just come inside with you?" Tenten asked innocently, about to follow Temari inside when she was stopped from coming in again.

"She might not allow us to stay if she sees you wearing…that," Temari answered, pointing towards their choice of clothing, "And she definitely won't accept if she sees your peculiar hair colour." She answered, looking towards Sakura.

"Oh," Hinata said, as if she and Temari were sharing a secret, "We understand." At least, she thought she had any ways. When Temari stepped inside, Hinata looked at her three best friends, who only stared back at her in return. "What?" she questioned unknowingly.

"I still don't understand why we can't just follow her inside." Said Tenten, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Me neither." Ino agreed.

Hinata looked at Sakura for some help. "You understand though, right Sakura?"

Sakura looked sheepish as she let out a slightly embarrassed laugh. "Sorry Hinata, but I don't get it either." She answered to Hinata's disappointment.

"The Inn keeper sounds like quite a strict, old lady. She's probably really old fashioned, and if she sees what we're wearing, then she might think that we're…you know," she stopped talking, thinking that they would have caught on by now. But they didn't, instead they stood there and stared at Hinata for some more, before Tenten had to urge her to continue. Hinata sighed.

"She might think we're prostitutes here to do '_something_'." She finally added, quietly like she was afraid the ground or the surrounding walls would hear.

"Oh god," Ino said, "Okay, I get you."

"What the-!" Tenten blurted out, "_Ugh_! I swear Temari's the one with the brain that's older than my grandma!" Tenten huffed, crossing her arms in annoyance. "So because of some old lady we have to stay out here and freeze our butts off 'til we die."

"Well, at least she is helping us get back home." Hinata put in thoughtfully.

After that, they stood in silence for minutes. Whether it was 2 or 10 minutes, Sakura didn't know, because it seemed as though everything in this cold was freezing, including time. Tenten decided to jump on the spot for warmth. Hinata wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her icing sides. Sakura entertained herself and instead made little puffs of steamy clouds from her breath. Ino couldn't take it anymore and instead tried to see if her phone would switch on again, only for the electric device to be shoved back inside her bag when she got nothing. "What is Temari doing that's taking her so long?" She suddenly blurted out impatiently.

They all shrugged their trembling shoulders in return. Tenten faced the wooden inn and tried to see if there was a window that wasn't covered by an almost opaque curtain, only to no avail when she couldn't see a thing past them. She suddenly grinned evilly and walked up wooden door, before pressing her ear against it.

"Tenten! You can't do that its-" Hinata started, only for Tenten to cut in half way through her sentence.

"Shush! Just come and listen." She said.

Without even thinking, Ino quickly went up to the door and mimicked Tenten. Sakura and Hinata were adamant on staying were they were, until Ino looked at Tenten, sneakily winked, and asked "Did Temari just call that lady Grandma?"

Sakura glanced at Hinata, who glanced back at her in return. "Should we?" Sakura started.

Hinata looked towards the door, then back at Sakura. She smiled slightly. "What Temari doesn't know won't hurt her…right?" She suggested.

The two giggled mischievously, before joining Tenten and Ino.

* * *

><p>Temari stepped inside and took a quick idle look around the inn. The clanking sound her leather shoes made as they made contact with the wooden floor echoed around the silent room. She was glad she was finally out of the sub-zero weather outside and into a much warmer room instead.<p>

"Lady Chiyo," Temari called out quietly. "Lady Chiyo," she called out again, this time much louder, and if anyone had seen her, they would have thought she was talking to herself, or the air.

Not many seconds later, footsteps were heard descending from the stairs. Temari turned around towards the source of the noise and watched as an old lady wrapped around in many layers of dull coloured clothing came into sight. Her grey, already aged hair was tied up into a messed up bun above her head, but her dark, tired looking eyes suddenly lightened up. Her face was set into an expressionless look, covered by many wrinkles and two warts, though she smiled at the sight of Temari, revealing a set of toothless gums.

"Temari? My dear god, is that really you?" She asked, surprise and disbelief evident in her croaking voice.

Said girl smiled and walked up to the old women for a bone-crushing hug. "Oh Lady Chiyo, it's been so long since I had last seen you!" She exclaimed, still hugging the small women. They pulled apart after seconds, looking into each other's smiling faces, before hugging each other again.

"I have missed you so much my dear. But, how did you know that I would be in this town?" Lady Chiyo asked, pulling away to grab a chair for her and Temari to sit on.

Temari gratefully accepted the chair and sat down to rest her legs. "I sensed that there was something wrong when I was travelling here, Lady Chiyo. My senses were proven correct when I arrived. I saw a child in the shadows hiding when we arrived here, and he was wearing something that only you would know how to make; you're famous arm cast." Temari smiled a little in a proud way, before her expression fell again. "What has happened?"

Lady Chiyo let out a long, exhausted sigh, and only then did Temari realise just how old Lady Chiyo really was. She suddenly noticed that Lady Chiyo's posture was slumped from age, two fatigued bags circling sagging eyes, thin lips pressed into a tight line and her skin was tired, home to many wrinkles and creases. And instantly, Temari knew what had actually happened.

She suddenly went from worried to annoyed, sharp looking eyes set into a poisonous glare, yet not directed towards the old women seated in front of her. "_They_ were here again, weren't they?" she hissed, setting all her focus back onto Lady Chiyo again.

Lady Chiyo tried to avoid the question, _for Temari's own good_, she thought to herself, but she knew that it was inevitable anyway.

"No, it was not _them_." She lied, staring back into the icy eyes of Temari, as if to say that she was telling the truth by not avoiding eye contact.

"Don't lie to me." Temari spat out, and Lady Chiyo instantly felt taken aback by the way Temari had spoken to her, but just as quickly as the feeling came, it left and instead was replaced by her firm, challenging eyes.

But Temari didn't look like she was going to give up on her question any time soon, Lady Chiyo realised. Having had enough of this, she let out a long, reluctant sigh and to her discomfort, decided to stop hiding the truth from Temari.

"It seems as though _they_ haven't had enough. Come back for more, you know? It was about a week ago when they came here. They took 3 of them this time" She said in disgust.

"Damn it Lady Chiyo! Why do you feel the need to come along every single incident _they_ cause?" Temari yelled, standing up and slamming her hands onto the wooden table before them, causing it to quake beneath her fury.

Lady Chiyo suddenly glowered and subconsciously stood up as well, facing Temari with an equal amount of rage. "They attacked innocent human beings, Temari. I was not about to sit and watch as innocent people died when I knew I could do something about it!"

"Well it's not your business! If the people are going to die, then they are going to die. Why put your life at risk for strangers. Look at you Lady Chiyo, you can barely breathe!" Temari bellowed.

Lady Chiyo pursed her thin lips together into an even thinner line and clenched her jaw tightly. "Do not take that tongue with me child," She hissed dangerously, "I was given the power to heal the injured and save lives. Why should I not use it?"

Temari's eyes widened in surprise when she realised that she had been literally screaming at her former elder and she instantly bent her head down in shame and embarrassment. "Please forgive me Lady Chiyo; you know I meant no disrespect. But try to understand that the more you use your power, the shorter your own life gets, and you are aware of that!"

When she at last apprehended the reason for Temari's concerns, Lady Chiyo's features immediately softened. She walked up to the girl she thought of as a granddaughter and placed the girls cold hands into her warmer ones and smiled warmly.

"Temari dear," She started softly, "There is no need to worry over me. Im old now, I have aged and my time is coming to an end soon anyways. I have been in this world far longer than most people have, and I know what I am doing. You should care for yourself more often, child-"

But just as she was about to finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the loud slam of the suddenly open door. Lady Chiyo and Temari instantly whipped their heads towards the direction of the noise in alarm and to both of their shock and surprise; found the four girls fallen inside by the entrance, concern, horror and embarrassment evident in their eyes.

Their cheeks instantly flushed a bright red as they each stood up awkwardly. Quickly trying to think up of a cover story Sakura clumsily blurted "We heard shouting! Is everything alright Temari?"

Tenten scrutinized the two women, before looking at their holding hands. Her eyes went apologetic at the sight and she looked back up to Temari in guilt. "Please don't tell me we just cut off the deal you and her were making about letting us stay here for the night." She pleaded.

"What deal is this? Who are these strange girls?" Lady Chiyo asked in confusion.

Ino cursed. Loudly.

* * *

><p>"Your Grandma makes really good tea. Are you sure it's not just tea leaves and a spoon of sugar in this?" Tenten asked Temari, taking another sip from the hot liquid in her cup.<p>

Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend's curiosity.

"Although I wish she was, she is not my grandmother, but my grandmother and Lady Chiyo were distantly related. She is like family to me" Temari corrected Tenten.

"I think what Tenten is trying to say is that she thanks Lady Chiyo for letting us stay the night." Sakura put in.

"And for being really considerate to our situation." Ino added, sitting crossed leg on one of the beds that the old women had provided for them. She took her phone out and tried to see if it would turn on. "Why won't this stupid piece of garbage work? I swear, when we get back home, Im going to throw this trash away and sue whoever made it!" She exclaimed.

"Ino, you had your phone specially designed the way that you wanted so that no one can have the same phone as you. Technically speaking, you would be suing yourself." Hinata corrected, sitting across from Ino on the bed.

"Don't remind me," muttered Ino, her mood dropping down.

Sakura hated seeing her best friend upset, and she was curious about whether Lady Chiyo had a phone or not as she did intend to use it, so she decided that now was the right time to ask Temari. "Hey Temari," Sakura called, stirring Temari's attention from whatever she had been staring at outside to inside the room. "Would you happen to know if your grandmother had a phone that we could borrow for a second?"

Temari blinked in surprise. "You mean that peculiar little object you called a 'mobile'? Erm, no. Im definitely sure that Lady Chiyo doesn't have one. And she isn't my grandmother."

"What about a telephone, like the ones that you find connected from your house?" Ino asked hopefully, too eager to wait.

"No. She doesn't have that either, I think." She muttered the last bit in case they heard and pondered her about strange objects even more.

"How come Lady Chiyo doesn't have all these things? I mean, I know she is a little old fashioned but the poor lady doesn't even have electricity. She had to heat up the water for the tea in a pot under the chimney with _real_ fire, and the whole place is lit up with actual _candles_." Tenten wondered quietly between her friends, out of Temari's earshot.

"I don't know. Maybe she can't afford to pay the bills that it brings along." Hinata whispered back.

"And using candles is a more convenient way?" Tenten incredulously asked. "She heated the food we ate and her water in a metal pot on a fire for god's sake!" She hissed.

Sakura's eyes went wide and alarmed as she looked between Tenten and Temari, inaudibly sighing in relief when she saw that Temari's attention was long lost as she had gone back to staring outside at whatever it was she was staring at earlier. She gave Tenten a warning glare. "No need to be so loud!" She hissed back.

"Look, all I'm saying is that this woman already has enough on her hands. And if she really is barely affording stuff then I think that we're asking a little too much from her by staying the night." Tenten thoughtfully pointed out.

"Plus, when we were listening outside, we did hear Temari and her talk about her illness." Hinata said.

"But I don't understand why she would be poor if she was a medic. And she definitely sounds like a medic because she said that she has the power to heal the injured." Sakura doubted.

"C'mon guys, why complain when we're leaving tomorrow anyways? Just be glad that she didn't kick us all out when we fell in through her door." Ino said.

Hinata giggled. "Sorry, but the look on our faces and Temari's and Lady Chiyo's when we broke in was pretty funny."

Sakura couldn't help but giggle too. "Poor Lady Chiyo, I wonder why she even let us stay in the first place?"

"Because we're young, innocent hot girls travelling alone with nowhere to go in the middle of the night?" Ino suggested, only to get slapped around the head by Tenten.

"What's this town called anyway?" Sakura questioned.

"The Land of Rice fields, I think. Lady Chiyo was talking about it when she was heating the soup we had." Hinata answered.

"Are you sure? Land of Rice Fields was demolished about 60 years ago because of its decreasing population and because it wasn't safe to live there anymore." Sakura suddenly remembered.

"It's probably getting re-built again. Oh! No wonder they don't have any electricity or proper houses yet." Ino thought.

"True," Sakura considered. "Well, Im really tired right now guys. I think Im going to go to sleep.

"Me too. I need my beauty sleep for tomorrow," Ino sarcastically yet light-heartedly agreed.

"Well then. I guess that means me and Ino are sleeping on the bed. Sakura and Tenten, looks like you're sleeping on the floor." Hinata teased.

"Er, I don't think so. This bed is big enough to fit us all on." Tenten retorted, quickly getting off her chair and pushing Hinata to make room for her. Sakura laughed and was about to push Ino when said girl gave her a stern, warning look.

"Don't. You. Dare. Forehead. I'll just make you some room instead," She said. "And don't think Im happy about this!"

They all laughed in return at this, including Temari. Sakura didn't know how long it actually took them to get to sleep that night.

* * *

><p>"Get up, we're leaving!"<p>

That was the first thing Sakura had heard when she was forcibly woken up from her sleep. It was panicked and loud and ordered, and it had her instantly on her feet. She stumbled blindly and lazily a little, and her legs wobbled from the sudden change in stance. She rubbed her eyes with one hand as they tried to adjust to the dark, before she could properly make out her surroundings. Still in a sleeping trance, she heard Temari shout out the same order until mumbles and light curses were heard from her friends. One by one, they all stumbled up, still trying to adjust to the dark and change from sleep themselves.

"Temari? What the hell are you doing?" Tenten asked annoyed, before she yawned. It was obvious she was still tired, as the sun still hadn't come out which meant that they hadn't been sleeping for more than a few hours.

"Yeah! Why did you have to wake us up so suddenly and early?" Ino blurted out, though it sounded mumbled and incoherent because she was still half asleep.

"We have to leave, now!" Temari ordered, pacing up and down the room, before looking outside of the window.

"Why? We only just got here! What is going on?" Hinata asked seriously, full attention on Temari now.

"There's no time to explain, we have to leave now! Our lives could be in danger." Temari spoke, looking into each of their eyes seriously.

"Oh my god, don't tell me that those crazy women followed us here?" Ino blurted out in disbelief.

Temari stopped pacing around the room and looked at Ino as if to say 'No, that's exactly what it isn't', but quickly changed her mind and said instead "Yes! That's exactly what's happening! Lady Chiyo said that a villager on their way back spotted us heading this way and if we don't leave now, they'll be upon the village in no time! If we don't leave then not only will your lives be in danger but all of the lives in this village."

Sakura was finding it so hard to believe, but Temari was saying it in such a serious way that Sakura was just plain confused.

"Well, what do we do? Where do we go?" Hinata asked, worried and panicked.

Just as Temari was about to answer, Lady Chiyo quickly burst into the room and frantically looked at the four girls, before looking towards Temari. "Good, you got them all awake. Have you warned them?"

"Yes." Temari answered a little too quickly.

"Good, good." She said, before looking back at the girls. "Im really sorry that you have to be warned so quickly, but I have everything prepared for you downstairs. There is a bucket of warm water and some food that would last you some time in your journey. Get yourselves washed and prepared, but quickly, there's no time to waste!"

Still in their confused yet much more awake and alarmed states, the girls ran out of the room and clumsily tried to sprint down the stairs, only to nearly fall down the wooden steps.

"Oh my god, why is this happening to us?" Ino moaned, dipping her hands in the closest bucket she found and wiping her tired face with the warm water. "And why is there no sink?" She asked when she realised that she was actually washing her face with water in a bucket.

"There's something definitely not right here," Sakura started, taking a quick look around at her friends.

"Yeah, how come lady Chiyo's house doesn't have a sink?" Tenten agreed.

Sakura shook her head from side to side and sighed. "No, you idiots. Lady Chiyo and Temari lied to us." She said.

Tenten looked at Sakura, one eyebrow risen up as if to say 'How?'

"Sakura, what on earth do you mean?" Hinata spoke for the first time since they had been abruptly woken up. The girls gave her their full attention now, so Sakura sat down and motioned for them to do the same.

"Don't you see? It's not the women that are after us again. That's what the lie is." Sakura whispered, in case Temari and the old women would hear.

"No way!" Ino started, "Temari's trying to kick us out already? She's just going to leave us outside in this poor village to starve and die with no telephone or contact with the police?"

"What? No, Temari's coming with us and that's definite." Hinata whispered back to Ino, before turning back to Sakura. "Well, who do you think it is then Sakura?"

"Someone else is coming after us. Or maybe it's not after us, but it's someone dangerous enough to make Lady Chiyo scared." Sakura explained

"Well, what do you think we should do? Should we stay here and wait?" Tenten suggested to the girls.

"Maybe it really isn't safe to stay." Hinata disagreed.

"And you did say earlier that we were only going to stay here for a day anyways. Maybe Temari's parents are a little less old fashioned and have a phone that we could use. Or maybe we're lucky enough to run into a police station, because I asked Temari if this town had one last night and she said no." Ino said.

"You're right Ino. I think we should go to Temari's house and see how things turn out." Sakura agreed.

"Yeah, and could you please explain to me what we're going to do when things don't turn out right? Because we could always just go back home now. Who cares about those women, we'll fight them off!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Have you lost your heads?" A new voice that wasn't amongst them croaked out. The girls gasped in surprise and whipped their heads towards the stairs where Lady Chiyo was descending from, followed by a still pretty shaken looking Temari.

"N-no Lady Chiyo, that's not what I meant. I was saying-" Tenten started, standing up from her chair, only to be interrupted by Lady Chiyo again.

"No need to explain to me child. I know how you are all feeling right now, but trust me when I tell you this," She began, looking deadly serious into each pair of the girl's eyes, "If you go back to that Village, you will die. The villagers will kill you on your way back, because they are on their way here. It will be for the best if you left with Temari. She will take you to safety."

Sakura eyed the women suspiciously, taking in what she had just offered. It wasn't like it was a bad offer; it was a pretty clever one actually. But the reason for the offer was because villagers were arriving in this town just to capture her and her friends? Pretty unbelievable if you asked her. She could tell that it was a lie the moment Temari had woken them up and spoke. She was in a panicked state. Too panicked. And it was like as if all the bravery and composure from the day before had been sucked out of her. That wasn't the case when she had first found them and brought them here, and that situation was much more dangerous. No, something was really wrong here, something bad was happening. Or was it someone? It had to be more than one person, Sakura anticipated, if it was causing her and the old wise women to act like this.

"But we know you're lying about all of this," Tenten retorted, staring hard at Lady Chiyo and Temari.

The pair looked at each other in question and puzzlement, in a way that made them look guilty, like they couldn't believe that their secret was out, before Temari looked back at Tenten and the rest of the girls.

"What on earth do you mean, Tenten?" Temari asked in disbelief, but hid it well.

"Well Sakura said-" Ino started, but was immediately cut off by Sakura.

"That we would be thankful if Temari let us stay at her house until the situation with the villagers died off." Sakura finished, and stopped her friends shocked and confused cried with a hard glare of her own.

Lady Chiyo hurriedly walked past the girls and up to a locked wooden door that the girls hadn't even noticed at first. Pulling out a chain of keys hidden in one of her pockets, she opened the door and entered the pitch black room. Sakura gazed in bemusement as the women was heard shuffling around, before her petite, elderly form emerged through the darkness, covered by cobwebs and dust. In her hand were black cloth objects.

"Wear these. They're hand-made cloaks, and they will keep you warm through your journey. And also, they will help cover up your exposed forms."

The girls gratefully accepted their cloaks and wore them, glad that the material didn't weigh them down. Sakura wasn't oblivious of the object that was placed in her pocket, She knew that Lady Chiyo had placed something in there the moment she saw the lady place her hand into the cloak pocket, but a look from Lady Chiyo told her to stay quiet. Before they knew it, parcels of wrapped up food were shoved in their bags and they were out, running through the village and not so long after, the forest again. Not a word was said the whole way through.

* * *

><p>"Temari?" Hinata decided that she was going to be the first one to break the silence. Ever since they had left Lady Chiyo's house, they had been running non-stop in complete silence. Every single time one of them had tried to start a conversation; it would quickly drift off and end abruptly, leaving them awkward and bored. They salvaged the silence when Temari stopped running, because walking gave them time to think and gave them time to catch their breath. Like now.<p>

"Hmm?" Temari hummed back in questioned, though she didn't turn around to face Hinata.

"Do you think it will be alright with your parents if you brought back all four of us?" Hinata asked intently. Sakura, Ino and Tenten all paid attention now, the question seeming to have been interesting enough for them to focus on.

Though Temari didn't turn around, she knew that all the girls were staring at her, waiting for an answer. She could feel their eyes piercing her head, but she ignored and continued walking on.

Just as the girls lost hope in getting anything out of Temari, she surprised them all by speaking.

"I don't have parents." She answered, almost bitterly.

"Oh," Hinata's eyes went wide at the sudden intake of information, and she was sure that the others were wearing the same expression. "Im sorry, I didn't know…" Hinata trailed off after a long pause. She instantly felt guilty and like she was in the wrong. This explained to her why Temari didn't have a mobile phone, or why her only close family was probably Lady Chiyo. It also explained to her why she must be finding it so hard to live, because she probably didn't have a lot of money.

"Do not be, it is not your fault." Shrugged Temari and kept on walking like the situation with her parents was alright; like announcing that you had none was just normal.

"No, we shouldn't have asked, it was totally unnecessary of us," Explained Sakura. She thought that she at least ought to pay some sort of respect towards Temari's deceased parents. It was strange, really, how she had only known this girl for a few hours, yet she felt that they have known each for so much longer. Obviously, she was wrong; it was evident that there was still much more to learn about Temari, but judging from her cold, distant behaviour towards the group, it was going to be very hard. She just wished the girl opened up a little bit more and actually spoke to them instead of hiding everything away from them.

"No seriously, you do not have to be. I'm actually happy I made the right decision of running away." Temari answered again, like it was normal to say something like that out loud.

It took a while for Sakura and her friends to comprehend what Temari had just said into their heads. "Wait, what?" They suddenly exclaimed.

"I ran away from home." She repeated, still walking through the forest. She held a tree branch that was nearing her above her head, and stepped over a fallen, mould covered log. "Mind the branch and the log," She warned them casually as she continued strolling into the dark.

"What do you mean you ran away from home? How long? Why?" bellowed Ino, and for once Sakura was glad for the blonde's loud, persistent voice.

Temari sighed heavily. "Im only going to say this once, and after I've finished speaking, it's the end of the story. Understood?"

They nodded in reply, glad that Temari was finally sharing something about her with them for a change. It finally made them feel a little more connected with Temari.

"Good." Temari's pace slightly slowed down, before she continued speaking. "My family have certain…expectations or rules about how I should live my life. They want me to be a particular type of person, but it was just not right for me.

"Unfortunately, I never got to see my mother. She died giving birth to my youngest brother and from then on we lived a life like orphans. My father was almost like a leader of a certain clan, so his people's expectations of us were extremely high. He would always be away, so I hardly ever got to see him. When he finally came back, he didn't even show any sort of affection or happiness at our sight. Instead, he just ordered that I would be sent away so that I learn the true ways of being a va-" She stopped and rethought her words through, before speaking again, "Of being a lady. He scolded me when I disobeyed, so I ran away." She concluded.

Sakura didn't know whether to feel angry or apologetic for Temari. Stunned, that was a good word to describe how she was feeling. She hated people like that, like Temari's father. How dare he? This was his daughter who he hadn't seen for god knows how long, how can he just send her away? It was because of him that his daughter was now running around through forests. In a way, she admired Temari, because she was young yet living on her own without anyone else's help.

"I...I don't know what to say…" Hinata began. Her words were uneasy; anyone could clearly tell she was shocked.

"Nothing. Don't say anything, remember? Ah look, we're here!" Called out Temari. She was thankful that this piece of information fixated the girl's attention back to their current situation, and not on her families past. Well, all of them except for Sakura.

Her mind still dwelled on Temari's past. '_Her family expected certain expectations?_' she thought. _'Like what? Certain dress code? Forbidden relationships? Arranged marriage?'_ But the more she thought about it, the more complications her mind got into. Too weary to continue, she let her brain focus on the important task at hand, the destination. She guessed that whatever Temari's family had expected from her, it obviously wasn't something good, or else Temari wouldn't have run away. She was a reasonable girl, right?

As Sakura and the girls took a look around, they started to have second thoughts on whether Temari had really been leading them somewhere or if they were walking around in circles. There was no difference between the forest now and how it was when they first entered it about an hour ago, and the sun still hadn't risen. It was still pretty dark; the girls had to suffice with the little light the crescent moon was penetrating through the thick, almost grey-coloured leaves of the trees. It was just their luck when a few ominous looking clouds decided to show up in the far east of the pitch black sky, and Sakura was sure that it was going to start raining upon them any time soon.

"We are halfway out of the land of Rice Fields already. I haven't realised how quickly time had passed," she explained in confusion, eyeing the objects around. Standing there, she recognised a few of her surroundings. "Yes, this is definitely it." She said after a while. "About a few metres ahead and we should be able to see the bridge."

The whole area sat under a dark and foreboding air. No matter where they walked, it always felt like they were being watched. Sakura guessed that even on the sunniest of days, the clearing would still sit under the cloud of murky fog. Yes, they were walking through fog so thick; they couldn't even see where they were going. It was so dark that Sakura was sure even the sun in its fiery glory wouldn't do any good here. It looked and felt like the whole place was evil to the core.

A cold shudder trickled down her spine. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Hinata and Ino glancing around nervously. They self-consciously huddled together.

"Girls, Im starting to regret this. Maybe we should just go back now?" Ino whispered in a shaky voice.

"Don't be so stupid Ino, we came this far anyways. Let's just go to Temari's house and then we might get a phone signal!" Shushed Tenten, but even she was scared.

Temari turned around and glared. "Stop making so much noise, this place might not be populated but it's still not safe. I don't even know where we are going!" She hissed.

The girls eyes widened in shock. "How can you not know where you're going? You've been here before right? You said so yourself!" Exclaimed Ino, but quietly.

"Yes I have, but not through this route! I usually travel through the land of Rice Fields, but seeing as I am travelling with you, we have to travel around the village. So if you could please be quieter and let me concentrate," Temari retorted.

Slightly taken aback, the girls quieted down, so that only the muffled crunching and snapping of dried leaves and twigs were heard.

Temari came to a sudden stop, and from what Sakura could tell, almost seemed to be sniffing the air, before she slightly scowled. But just as quickly as the scowl appeared, it vanished and was replaced by determined yet serious features.

Sakura looked ahead and was completely taken aback by the scene in front of her. True to Temari's words, a long, narrow stone bride stretched across from one side of the area they were in to the other. It was much larger than what Sakura had first imagined, and looked much more dangerous too. There were no railings to hold onto for support, it was broken and old and battered. If she didn't trust Temari so much, then she would have turned around and walked straight back. She faced her friends to see their reactions, and saw exactly what she expected. Hinata stared on, horrified and pale, like she was about to pass out on the spot. Tenten blinked many times, making her mortification clear to everyone surrounding her. Ino shrieked in horror and faced Temari in complete and utter fear and disbelief.

"This," Ino started, breathing heavily, "Is the bridge? You expect me to cross that? That's at least 20 fucking metres long!" She screeched, pointing wildly at the bridge before looking away in fear. Then she looked back at the bridge and cringed deeply in disgust and fear.

"Well Ino, you can stay here on your own and watch as we cross the bridge without you," Temari offered sarcastically.

"No, that's okay! B-but you have to let me hold on to you, I'm not crossing by myself." Ino said, and Sakura couldn't help but nod in agreement. Temari sighed heavily.

"Be really careful now, there is a possibility that you slip. This bridge is very narrow, so there is a high chance you lose your grip and fall. It's still foggy, but I can aid you through if you stick closely together and we walk slowly." She cautioned.

Still unsure and frightened, the girls unknowingly nodded their heads and held onto each other.

"I can't believe Im doing this," Muttered Tenten.

"Let's go," Temari cautiously took a small but light step forward and pressed on to the bridge. When she was sure it was as safe and secure as she recalled, she took another step. Following her lead, the rest followed on.

Looking at her feet, Sakura noticed that the bridge was actually really, really old. A layer of mould and moss covered the once stone bridge, leaving Sakura wondering just how old it really was. It felt wet and slippery and surprisingly mushy under her feet. She didn't know if it was because of the dark, or because of the heavy tinge of horror surrounding them, but she swore that the little puddle that sat about a metre away from them was blood. She could feel Tenten's shaking hands gripping onto the back of her cloak, and Hinata's trembling and sweaty palm as they held hands and continued walking across the bridge. The fact that Ino shrieked for every step she took wasn't helping, and the urge to resist looking down suddenly became difficult to control.

And then, she heard it. A calming yet icy lullaby. It left her in a trance, numbing her brain and senses. It made her feel warm yet dead inside, eating away at her inner core. She didn't know what she was doing, or where she was going, but the need to sense death all of a sudden developed into something much darker. Out of the ordinary, she decided that she actually wanted to take her own life. It was so…persuasive and reassuring, and it was the best she had felt for the past couple of days. It pulled at her mind in way that made it seem as if it was talking to her. _Follow me_. She knew that if it could speak, then that's what it would have been repeating to her inside her head.

Temari suddenly halted and looked behind over her shoulder. "Is everyone alright so far?" She asked suspiciously. With an insecure nod from their heads, she turned around and continued to walk, but a sudden shift caused her to stop forcefully. She thought she had seen something, and so all attention and focus was suddenly turned on and fixated around the shadows of the forest. She shushed the girls when they asked her why she had stopped, and concentrated even more on her surroundings, her sense of hearing especially focused, until she barely heard it too; a lullaby. Gasping in shock, she quickly opened her eyes and skimmed through the girls faces until she saw Sakura's. The girl looked lost, her eyes almost rolling to the back of her head as she shuffled herself forwards and continued walking across the bridge, not caring about the fact that Temari and Ino were stood still in front of her. Temari's eyes widened in fear as she instantly grabbed her hand out in order to stop Sakura's movement, but the girl merely walked around Temari's arm.

Sakura screamed loudly in fright and tremor as her right foot lost grip and slipped, causing her to almost fall over the bridge into bottomless nothing. Almost.

Out of sheer instant reaction, Tenten and Hinata panicked and held onto her tightly, afraid to let go. Ino held onto Hinata to support the girl in helping Sakura, while Temari watched in fear. _She heard it_, she thought. _It's targeting her the most_.

Still shaken from the impact, Sakura just bobbed her head and whimpered an incoherent reply. It was supposed to reassure them, but it only worried them even more. It looked like she was having a panic attack, and Temari wasn't about to stand and watch as they all plummeted towards their death because they couldn't control one shaking girl.

"Sakura!" Temari shouted, and to her satisfaction, got the result that she wanted from the traumatised girl. Sakura whipped her head up in shock at the mention of her name and blinked, before taking a look around at her friend's concerned faces.

"I..." She started, voice still shaking slightly and eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "What's going on?" She asked.

"Are you crazy Sakura? Were you purposely trying to give us a heart attack?" Ino screeched, continuing in scolding her best friend.

Sakura gazed around in confusion, before Temari explained to her that she nearly slipped. Not once did Temari mention to Sakura the disturbing melody that they had both heard. No one needed to know, seeing as how Sakura had already forgotten and the rest hadn't even heard it. With some reassurance from Sakura, they finally decided that it was time to finish crossing the bridge.

* * *

><p>When they had crossed, safely, Hinata searched Sakura's face for some sort of answer. "Hey, are you ok? You didn't get hurt did you?" She asked, worry filling her pale eyes.<p>

"Yeah, I was just a bit careless; I didn't notice where I was going. Sorry for getting you so worried." Sakura apologized.

"Well…If you say so," Replied Hinata, though she wasn't so sure about the answer Sakura had given her.

"Before we continue, Im sure that you are all more than tired by now, but don't worry. We'll walk for a little while longer, before stopping for a bit of rest and food. We can sleep after the sun has risen, when we are safer in light. Is that okay with you?" She gently asked.

"Yeah, I guess, but where are we going to eat and rest?" Tenten asked, "Because I haven't seen a single hotel or restaurant or even Inn on our way here."

"It seems as though we'll just have to make do with the forest." Temari answered.

"What about that massive house up there?" Ino asked, pointing toward large, gloomy looking building that stood dangerously proud on a hill not so far away from where they were.

"Massive house my arse. That's a castle Ino, and boy does it look amazing!" Tenten retorted, staring fascinatingly at the castle.

"Maybe it's just there for show, like for tourists and stuff," Hinata said.

"Or maybe there are people living in it that could help us! I say we go and check it out!" Ino suggested hopefully.

"I don't know. It does not look safe to me. It could potentially be very dangerous," Temari said darkly.

"Well, Im going to go and see it for myself. What have we got to lose any ways?" Ino said, walking up towards the castle.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh, I don't know our lives maybe?" She said sarcastically. Nonetheless, she followed on after her best friend. When all four friends walked up towards the castle, Temari knew she didn't have a choice but to follow after. She groaned in annoyance and walked after them. "I am going to regret ever doing this," She muttered.

The castle had a very gothic sense about it, from its architecture to the aura surrounding it. Although they were a good 20 metres away from reaching it, but just looking at the castle created fear inside of them. The tall twin towers that stood at either side of the building loomed over the castle, forming dark shadows that cascaded down the building. The fact the castle looked completely isolated didn't help. The faint smell of death lingered in the chilling darkness of the night.

"Are you satisfied now Ino?" Sakura muttered angrily.

"Shut up billboard brow, no one asked you to follow me," She retorted.

They continued to walk up to the castle, but the closer they got, the stronger the fear inside of them became. It reached a point where Ino decided to drop the whole idea and just back and away from the castle. And if it wasn't for the tremendous amount of fear that they each had in them, then Sakura was sure she would have scolded Ino for her stupidity to the point were said girl would have felt insecure for the next 10 years of her life.

Temari sighed in annoyance but also slight relief as she stomped down the hill again and back towards the path they were supposed to take in the first place. The others followed quickly after her.

"A-are you sure this is the right thing to do Temari?" Hinata stuttered, which was unusual to hear her do so as she had quit stuttering years ago.

"Yes, just calm yourselves down. There should be nothing to fear," She comforted gently but with a firm voice.

"Really? Because you were the one that said it was dangerous in the first place and…" Ino continued to blab on, causing Sakura to block the girl's annoying voice out and focus on her surrounding noises even more, but the sudden act caused her to stop in the middle of her tracks down the hill and listen even closer. The action caused the rest of the girls to also stop, but instead of questioning Sakura, they merely went quiet and tried to guess what was going on.

_Scrape. Scrape._ Sakura was definitely sure that she was not imagining that sound. And she was sure that neither she nor her friends were the source of it. She concentrated even more to see if she could hear it again.

_Suck. Slurp. _Seeming to finally be able to hear something, the others mimicked Sakura's expression of wide eyes and panic as the feeling of fear crawled back into their hearts again. "What was that?" Ino asked, breathing heavily and frantically as she clasped her shaking hands together and searched her surroundings.

The noises continued for longer, before they came to a sudden stop. Not much after, a thud was heard, like the sound of someone collapsing on the ground.

Now the panic spread through each and every one of them like a virus. The noises, they were coming directly from the castle. They whipped their heads back and cranked their necks up to the haunting figure of the Castle, searching it for anything. And as if on cue, something large and uneven in size suddenly rolled down the hill, aiming towards them at an incredibly fast speed, leaving them no time to dodge. It hit Hinata first, causing her to scream in fear and fall back, hitting the others behind her in the process.

They tumbled down the hill together till they reached the end, where they slowly but surely came to a stop. Ino groaned in pain at the end, eyes fluttering open. She tried to lift herself up, propping her hands onto the earth below her and lifting the top half of her body up first, but fell back onto the ground almost just as instantly.

"Ugh!" She moaned, "Get OFF me!" She screeched, and used all her force to lift herself up again, pushing the heavy load on top of her off in the process. It slumped onto the floor in a lifeless and motionless heap. And only when Ino got to take a proper look at the figure did she realise what it actually was. As if on instinct, her eyes widened, and she felt the blood pumping inside of her suddenly freeze into ice as her stomach did a series of lurches.

"O-oh…Oh my god. What the fuck is that? What the fucking hell is _this_?!" Tenten cried out when she took a proper look at the figure slumped in front of her. She crawled away hurriedly in fright when a puddle of liquid suddenly seemed to seep out from under the figures dead form , hands and legs too weak from the sight to properly get up.

Hinata screamed and Sakura had to do everything in her will to stop herself from vomiting on the spot due to the nauseating stench of iron that escaped from what she was sure was blood, but it was so dark in colour that in this night its bloody crimson seemed to be a poisonous black instead.

"T-that's a d-dead person…we were h-hit by a dead body." Ino repeated in a voice barely above a whisper. "Oh my god" She repeated quietly again, yet this time her voice rose in pitch and broke as she tried to suffice her burning tears.

Temari eyed the body with firm and calculating eyes, before she swallowed hard and stood up from her tumbled position, staring silently at the castle above. Her gaze wavered slightly as she clenched her shaking hands in order to remain composure. She cursed harshly under her breath, eyes instantly wide as saucers, as if she had finally realised what was happening. "How could I have been so careless?" She hissed to herself. Hurriedly, she grabbed the crying Ino up and repeated the action with Tenten, holding onto them tightly yet not hurting them, as she whipped her head around in the direction of Sakura and Hinata, and almost lost it herself when she saw that even Hinata and Sakura were crying as well, both in each other's comforting hold sat on the earth below them, staring in horror at the body in front.

"Sakura, Hinata, get up. W-we have to get out of here, now!" Temari ordered, though her shaky order merely went into one ear and out of the other as the two continued to cry silently, still traumatized by the sight in front of them.

Sakura had never seen a murder before in her life, not one in reality. Sure, she had seen it almost all the time on TV, in movies and never ending news channels, but she had never thought that she would have to experience this before in her life. She wanted to be a doctor, someone who saved lives and took care of illnesses and wounds, not a crime witness! She didn't want to be the one at the hospital to come out of the operating theatre and utter the harsh cruel words of death and loss to family waiting tentatively behind the doors. Nor did she want to be the one in charge of placing the lifeless bodies away either for later dissection or for cleaning it up ready to be placed in a tomb. She wasn't that strong, she didn't have that sort of power inside of her soft, kind untainted heart, and that's when she realised that maybe all this time, medicine really wasn't her thing. Maybe she had been lying to herself all this time when she said that she was up for it. Yes, she might be strong physically, but mentally? No. It was too soon for her to witness this; she was too young, right? Wasn't she? Or maybe that was just an excuse to cover up for the fact that she really couldn't take this sort of atmosphere, this inevitable fact of life; death. Funny how life and death were so different in meaning but clashed so well together in sentences.

"Sakura! Get up now!" The order was so loud and demanding that it caused Sakura to jolt in surprise and break out of her previous stupor, looking up towards source of the sound in utter confusion, a lost, blank expression drawn on her face.

Tenten, seeming to have calmed down a little, stared at Sakura as if this sort of behaviour and expression were almost alien to her. "Sakura, snap out of it," She said slightly, reaching out for her still sat friend.

Sakura turned around to her left to see that even Hinata had left her grip and was now instead crouched besides her, red puffy eyes holding a lot of worry and concern. She squeezed Sakura's shoulders slightly and lifted the girl up to her feet, Sakura sub-consciously following Hinata's lead like a brainless Zombie.

"We've b-been calling your name for the past 20 seconds! You got me worried sick!" Ino yelped in between a series of sniffs and hiccups.

"Temari says we have t-to go, n-now." Hinata explained, gripping onto the icy cold hands of Sakura as she placed her own freezing, shaking hands on top as an act of reassurance, although she looked like she needed it more than Sakura at the moment.

"If we don't go now, we will end up with the same fate as this unlucky soul," Temari quickly said, eyes glancing down towards the body.

"There's a serious killing psychopath on the loose and y-you're all acting like its n-nothing! What if… what if we're next? What if there's more than one of them? Where do we go now?" Sakura suddenly cried out in fear, searching her friend's faces for answers. Ino buried her face in her hands as she cried again, Tenten turned her head away in order to hide her face and Hinata looked down and bit her whimpering lip.

"Shut your mouth and listen to me!" Temari suddenly yelled, her eyes so sharply gazed towards Sakura that Sakura instantly shut up out of sheer fright. "You are going to do as I say, whether you like it or not. If you don't follow my orders, then we're all going to die. Don't be selfish by killing us all along with you."

Sakura winced at the harsh choice of words that Temari had used to talk to her, but it was the way that she had spoken to her that actually calmed her down, gave her the reassurance she needed, because it reminded her that at least someone knew what they were doing, at least someone was in lead.

Temari's gaze softened slightly and her voice got quieter, though the demanding tone did not leave nor waver for even a fraction of the second. "We have to get out of this god forsaken area and through this damned forest. We have to keep running till sunrise, and then we will be safe. We have to run away. Now! Run!" She instantly ordered.

She didn't know if it was because of the tone of Temari's voice or the level of power she had used in uttering her words, but without waiting to be told twice, Sakura found herself running amongst her friends and after Temari. What from? She didn't know, but her guts told her that this was something bad, something much worse than the problem they had experienced with the ladies from the Konoha Historical Experience. The thing that made Temari lose control, sense and composure back at Lady Chiyo's inn; this was what it was. The thought of all the possibilities and reasons of why Temari could be petrified caused the hairs on the back of Sakura's neck to stand on their ends. Nonetheless, she ran through the forest with all the speed she could possibly muster in her exhausted form, not daring to look back, not once. She prayed to god that a miracle would occur and that they would run into someone, anyone that could help them, offer them phone service or at least a lift back home. But there were no roads, no bicycle paths, no flashing car lights, nothing.

And it was then that she had heard it. Something that caused her to stop in her tracks again and stop thinking, lose control over her actions; a low, malicious chuckle, shadowed by the most enchanting voice she'd ever heard leave a human being's mouth. It was mesmerizingly horrifying, and it caused the breath in her lungs to be knocked out as she stood almost lifelessly in a fixed position. She didn't even dare breathe again, merely held her breath as her voice evaporated through her slightly agape mouth, all confidence gone alone with it.

* * *

><p>"Leaving so soon?" The male voice teased. Sakura stared ahead and slightly shifted her eyes in order to catch a glimpse of all her friends, only to see that they were in the same trance that she was pulled in to. Silent, unmoving, motionless. Almost…<em>dead<em>.

Sakura barely heard him move, never mind see him. Smooth but so sudden that she was sure his feet did not even scrape the earth below them, like a ghost. '_Supernaturally'_ she thought. In a blink, he was stood behind Tenten who stood about 2 metres in front of her, motionless as a broken watch.

"Well, what do we have here? A girl?" He sarcastically asked no one in particular. He chuckled at the joke, and raised his pale, large hands, placing each on either side of Tenten's shoulders, causing her to stiffen even more in position. If Tenten was in a museum, then she would have easily been mistaken for a wax model. His long, sharply pointed fingers strummed at her shoulders, before they slid down her bare arms, so carefully and gently that the action almost seemed to be done in slow motion. "Heh," he smirked, stopping at her wrists, "You're skin is soft and deliciously smooth. Such a shame your manly, physical personality does not match your soft, delicate characteristics."

Gritting her teeth in anger, Tenten turned around and lashed at him with her right foot, crying out in fury as she suddenly found courage and the feeling of coldness left her, replaced by her boiling blood. He smirked and merely caught it in his hand, leaving the girl angry yet surprised at the same time. She had been so sure that there was no way he would be able to dodge it, yet here he was, stood with her foot in his iron like clasp.

"Tut tut tut. Feisty, are we not? But I advise you to show more respect in _my_ presence." He hissed, gripping on to her foot so tightly that Tenten was sure it was going to snap, bit before she could cry out in pain, he let go of the limb and allowed it to drop sluggishly back onto the ground. Petrified, Tenten stumbled back and tripped. She gasped in shock and anticipated the pain that would soon surge through her head, yet instead of hitting the floor, she fell back onto a tree that collided with her back first, causing a ripple of pain to surge through her spine and neck. She cried in pain and shut her eyes as she winced.

"No matter, this is the type of behaviour I had expected from _you_ anyways." He continued circling the tree that Tenten had soon found support against, like a predator that was waiting for the right moment to shred apart its prey. Yet even in the dangerous situation that her friend had been placed, neither Sakura nor the girls were able to muster up enough courage to speak, never mind move; it was like they had been placed under some type of unbreakable spell that only he knew how to break, because it was him who had placed it. His dark, long, silky smooth hair danced along with his movements as he continued to circle the girl, his pale dangerous eyes glinting maliciously under the light the moon provided. The way the light shone on him made him seem gentle yet powerful, angelic yet demon like. And even though she had not fully seen his face, Sakura knew that he was beautiful.

Finally finding the audacity to muster something out loud, Tenten fearfully muttered, "I-I don't even know you… I've n-never seen you before in my life. So, h-how could you judge me a-and know who I am?"

"Ah. It hurts me knowing that you have forgotten me so soon." He answered in mock hurt, a fake pained expression plastered on his face. "Let me give you a small hint. How did we meet? Ah yes. The first time we met, you showed me a lot of disrespect. It is quite funny you know, I remember _you_ mocking _me_ back then. But, now that I take a closer look at you," he bent down so that his face was the same level as Tenten, and lifted a ghostly hand to her face, tilting it from side to side to side as if he was inspecting something, "You look terrified. Quite different from the expression you wore when we first met. Obviously then you did not know who I was," he stood up and straightened himself, smirking all the way. "You know, I almost pity you and what is soon about to be your fate, but no matter. I shall make it extra painful for you, as a treat."

Sakura's head spun wildly. Soon to be fate? Who was this guy, some sort of rapist or even worse, the psychotic serial killer? Was he after them from the start, following them from the time they had arrived at the Konoha Historical Experience, to the town where Lady Chiyo lived, and now here? Is he the reason why Temari had been so scared before? Because if he was, then they were screwed, even though it was literally 5 against one. But even then, he was still stronger, mentally and possibly physically than all 5 of them put together, especially since they were in this…unmoving state. This also explained the reason to why they couldn't move! He probably drugged them all without them even realising it, and despite the fact that this terrified her even more, at least it explained their unusual behaviour.

"You must have been someone who wasn't worth my time if I teased you on our first meeting," Tenten retorted, smirking slightly in achievement at the hurtful comment she had made, hoping it stung his large ego. The fact that Tenten could talk and walk surprised Sakura a little, because this was something that neither she nor Ino, nor Hinata and nor Temari seemed to be able to do at the moment. '_Maybe it's because Tenten needed a higher dosage of whatever he had given us'_ Sakura thought in fright. '_Or maybe…he wanted her to struggle and feel the pain, and that's why she can move and talk. He is targeting her specifically after all.' _Sakura shut her eyes tightly in fear and swallowed hard.

She didn't want to think about this, or about anything really. She just wondered why everything was happening to her, to them. Why did _she_ have to be the one that was chased by mad, killing women? Why did _she_ have to be the one that had to run away with a stranger? Why was it that where ever they went, they had no signal and no access to any phones? Why were there no cars and no light bulbs or ovens or proper electrical facilities in a town in the 21st century? Why were _they _the ones that had to be caught by a psychotic killer? Why _her!? _She bit her quivering lip in order to stop her whimpering. She was so pathetic, crying at a time like this and thinking selfishly. If this wasn't happening to her, then it would have happened to someone else, so why _not _her? A purposely loud sigh shook her out of her thoughts, leaving her to stare at the person who it had come out from.

"I see you still haven't remembered me." The man continued as if Tenten hadn't spoken, clutching onto the left side of his chest, where his heart lay, as if to say he was heartbroken. "I'll give you another clue. My name is Neji. Neji Hyuga. Does that ring any bells?"

Sakura's blood turned icy cold as she recalled who the name actually belonged to. '_I-impossible_!'

Tenten's body went numb all over, her brown, disbelieved eyes so wide in fear and shock that she was sure they were going to pop out of her sockets. She lifted her shaking hands to her temple as a sudden wave of vertigo and nausea hit her. "Impossible. You're lying! You're just t-trying to scare me! Neji Hyuga is d-dead, I-I saw his grave with my own eyes, s-so don't feed me that bullshit!"

He smirked at her reaction. "_Trying_ to scare you?" He laughed hard at this. "I _am_ scaring you."

Hinata, for the first time since she had suddenly and uncontrollably frozen on the spot, dared herself to actually look at Neji's features. She gasped audibly when she saw the colour of his eyes, the same ones that were similar to hers. And the same ones that only Hyuuga's ever got.

Pale eyes shone brighter than the stars under the moonlight, complimenting his sharp features very well. His pale skin contrasted finely with the shadows that danced across his face. His chiselled jaw stood out well and the left side of his face was perfectly symmetrical to the right side. His tall shadowy figure loomed over theirs, making them look like weaklings under his gaze.

"You have our eyes," Hinata suddenly whispered out loud, surprised but also shocked at the fact that she was finally able to speak. "Only a true Hyuuga has our eyes, and I can tell that your eyes are real. How…h-how do you have our eyes? I-if you r-really claim to be w-who you said to be, then h-how can y-you be…a-alive? It's not possible!" Hinata asked, still traumatised from what was currently happening.

"Miracles happen, do they not? Well, I claim to be a miracle," He answered smugly. "And what pleasant surprises we have here," He continued amusingly, " I'd never thought that I would ever see two of my people in _this_ land. Another Hyuuga. I thought that you had all fled away from here years ago. And Temari Sabaku, the traitor of her clan. _Our_ clans. Turned your back against your own people yet you still dare to cross our lands." He chuckled sarcastically. "You are such a disgrace. If I was your father, I would have done away with you the moment you were born. A mere half-blooded woman like you is not destined for the greatness and power that was bestowed upon _us_." He hissed.

Temari hissed back in reply, "Do not bring my name or my past on your filthy tongue. And I warn you, don't you dare even touch any of these girls!"

"Or else what?" He taunted, "You'll kill me? I've heard of your weak spot for mortals, I just never knew that it was this strong. But then again, your mother was half mortal, was she not? Typical you would take after her."

Sakura watched them in complete horror and confusion. Neji Hyuga? What was this, someone trying to play some sort of sick joke on them or something? And how on earth did Temari know him? What the hell was going on?

"Enough chatter. You've made me hungry. Let's play a game," He suggested. Before they even got to ask him what he was talking about, he tilted his head to the side and snickered.

"How…how are we supposed to play you're sick game if we can't even move! What did you drug us with?" Sakura suddenly screamed out to her surprise. She had her voice back! At least she could control that!

"Yeah you bastard! What the hell did you give us, we couldn't even speak! And who the fuck said we wanna play? Im sick of this stupid child joke! Let us go!" Ino yelled in agreement with Sakura.

But Neji merely continued to ignore them and talk as if they hadn't even opened their mouths. "It's called Hide and Seek. Very merry game, I'm sure you've all played it as children, yes? I'll spoil you and make it even easier for you. How about you hide, and I seek. If I catch you, then it's the end of your precious little life. Don't worry; I'll give you a 30 second head start. And I haven't done anything to your bodies, it is your fear of me that is controlling you bodies. You will have to fix that before the game starts, or else you might end up like the piece of waste that I had dumped at you earlier."

They felt the bile in their stomachs rise again at the thought of the newly dead body that had been dumped at them not so long ago. It was only when they realised that he had actually been the one who had killed the man did they suddenly understand why he had to be feared.

"Run," He said, and although it hadn't sound the least bit commanding or threatening, they knew that it should have been taken in that way. Sakura subconsciously stepped back, afraid that if she turned her back and ran in the opposite direction first, he would run after her and kill her on the spot. She was glad that now, at least she could move.

"We have to run!" Temari ordered in a way that told them she had meant it more than anything. And yet they didn't run. They couldn't run. Something was stopping them, gluing their feet to the earth beneath them. Practically possessing them. Ino shrieked in fear as she too realised that she couldn't move.

"What the hell is happening? I can't move my body!"

"I-I can't move my body either!" Hinata exclaimed. She felt tears spring up to her eyes as she stood completely motionless against her own will for the second time in the space o one minute

"W-what the-! What are you doing?" Sakura screamed in disbelief.

"No way! It can't be…" Temari whispered to herself, and nearly cried when she looked down to see that her shadow was stretched far too long behind her than what was considered normal in this light.

"Ah, you were too late." Neji announced, smirking triumphantly. "Unlucky for you, my friends have just arrived. Do not worry if you cannot move, it's a special power called the 'Shadow Possession Jutsu' that you have gotten the privilege to see. It uses the shadows around you to possess you into doing whatever its wielder wishes you to do."

"Shikamaru Nara," Temari hissed under her breath, eyes glaring dangerously at the shadow below her feet.

"Ah, so you have heard of him. He is quite a known man, so it's not that surprising. I'm sure he will be glad to know that he is famous amongst commoner's tongues." Neji said.

Sakura didn't know what was going on. All of this was wrong; these people were all supposed to be dead. She highly doubted that they were ghosts, but seeing just what they were actually capable of didn't help her mind think straight or even come up with a mild explanation to everything. She finally settled with this was either a prank- which was not funny, or they were posing actors pretending to be the 'Vampyr Children'. _Yeah right, because actors go around killing innocent people and throwing them at you down a hill as well as possess you with shadows in the middle of the dark in the middle of nowhere._

"Tsk, troublesome. This hunt better benefit us all, we missed feeding due to the fact that we had to track their scents down. Sasuke could be disappointed." Another male voice spoke out from the shadows.

"When is the teme ever please?" Another voice added. This man sounded more cheerful, but Sakura bet he was anything but. "We have a nice catch this time though."

"So these are the ones that mocked us? They look like a bunch of weaklings to me." A new voice spoke. It sounded emotionless and empty, hollow of anything.

"But they smell delicious! Clean and fresh, you know?" The cheerful one added.

"Naruto, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and help us bring them to Sasuke. Now then, how do you suggest we get them to the castle?" Neji asked, though he didn't even turn around to face any of the new speakers.

"I recommend making them unconscious. That way we get less trouble from them and we can easily take them to the castle. Simple." The first voice said this time. Sakura guessed it was that Shikamaru guy. She shivered. Why was he saying all of this? Just what were they planning to do with her and her friends?

"Just what are you idiots blabbering about? Who do you think you are? Because Im not being anyone's little slave subject! Non one is knocking me out!" Tenten yelled out.

"Yeah! This is nonsense, we've done nothing wrong, we don't even know-" Sakura started, but before she could even finish her sentence, something hard hit her at the back of her neck, and darkness enclosed around her as her eye lids suddenly felt heavy, before they shut. The last thing she heard was the simultaneous chuckling of the guys as one tutted and said "What a troublesome mouth."

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><p><strong>FINALLY DONE! Soo...what did you think? At least the guys have been introduced into the story now, right? Riiight? <strong>

**Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because it took me forever to write and make sure that it all made some sort of sense.**

**Any questions or queries, just ask them when you write your lovely review! **

**Much Love**

**xx-Ash-xx-1**


	4. Chapter 4

**Midnight Vampires: No Escape**

Wow guys, some of you really like this! Im so happy, that's the best Christmas present you guys could ever give me! Which reminds me… 4 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS! As if it's on a Sunday as well, but oh well, so excited!

**SORRY TO EVERYONE WHO READ THIS AND THOUGHT THERE WAS A MISTAKE, YES I UPLOADED MY OTHER STORIES CHAPTER ONTO THIS BY ACCIDENT, BUT HERE IS THE REAL CHAPTER! **

Oops, you're here for the new chapter, sorry! Enjoy lovely people ;D !

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><p>Chapter 4 : You're cursed<p>

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Sakura awoke to the feeling of pain. A lot of pain, especially in her head. As soon as her senses started returning to her, she realised that it wasn't only her head that hurt, her whole body was aching. It felt like she was getting stabbed everywhere, like her entire form was getting dragged through spikes.

Sluggishly , she let her eyes open only for them to shut again. To her, it felt like her eyelids weighed a ton. She tried again, only to fail miserably as they fell effortlessly back into position. Annoyed, she tried one last time, forcefully unfolding them, and succeeded. She let her eyelids flutter a few times, until she regained her eyesight. She wished she hadn't though.

Her body really was getting dragged, hands and feet bound up by rope securely. She remembered the scenario that occurred, the slurping noises, running through the forest, meeting a stranger who claimed to be a dead man, and then getting knocked out.

Instinctively, she craned her neck to scan the ghostly figure standing above her. Whoever it was, they were tall. She guessed he was male, but she couldn't really tell, not from the position she was currently in anyways. It looked like he was dragging her and someone else from some other rope, his back facing her.

But that's when she remembered. Her friends, he's dragging one of her friends. Panicking, she skimmed her gaze across a few distorted shapes surrounding her. She inwardly sighed in relief, even though she couldn't see their faces, she knew they were there.

A sudden spine tingling voice stopped her mid-way through her thoughts and dragged her back to earth.

"Seems like she's awake Sai, that's 3 of them now" spoke one of them. He had that same humorous thing to his voice, but like before, she doubted he was anything but entertaining.

" Make that 4, the one on my left seems like she's waking up too" Another said. His voice was the exact opposite of the one before, it was monotone and dead, not a single hint of emotion seeped out.

She suddenly realised that she wasn't the only one awake, from what she recalled earlier, there were 3 others.

Cautiously, she whispered the first name that came into mind. "Ino"

Instantly, a bit of shuffling was heard to her left. "Sakura? I-is that you?"

Relief suddenly washed over Sakura as she realised that her closest friend was ok. "Ino, it's me, are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?" she frantically asked, still making sure that she was quiet.

"Yeah, but my body aches. Sakura, what's happening? Who the hell are they?" replied Ino. To Sakura, it sounded like she was on the verge of crying. She doesn't blame her though, anyone would be on the verge of crying at this state.

"I really don't know Ino, but we'll find a way out and then we might get a phone signal and call home or the police, ok? Everything will be back to normal, we'll make sure of it" Reassured Sakura . She hated lying, especially to her best friends, but what choice did she have?

"Sakura, Ino… Are you guys ok? Guys it's me, Hinata" She sounded so weak and fragile, like she was about to shatter into a thousand pieces.

"Hinata? Thank god you're ok! It's Ino. Sorry, but I can't see you in this dark" Whispered Ino.

Sakura let another thankful sigh escape her lips, when she sudden thought hit her. If her, Ino and Hinata were ok, than who was the last one?

"Hey wait a minute, if we're ok, then who's the last person?" Silence soon took over as the air suddenly became suffocating to breathe in, the sense of claustrophobia possessing Sakura.

"Im fine" She instantly recognised that voice. But if she's ok, then what about…?

"Temari, if you're ok, what about Tenten? Hey Tenten" Sakura allowed her voice to grow little louder. "Tenten, answer me, Tenten!" She started freaking out. "You! You asshole, what did you do to my friend?" She ordered.

But before she even blinked she found herself slammed hard against a tree trunk, the blisters from the wood piercing through the material of her clothes and into her skin. Cold fingers were tightly enclosed around her throat, sharp nails digging in to her neck. She was sure that her neck was going to contain marks of his hand the moment he lets go of her.

Struggling to catch her breath, she wriggled under his unbreakable grasp, begging for oxygen. She felt so helpless and humiliated, the least she could do was keep her pride. So daringly, she forced her eyes to look straight back at his. She soon realised it was a mistake.

"I didn't do anything, so don't raise your voice near my presence, girl. Remember this, and remember it well, Im Neji Hyuga." he hissed dangerously. And just as quick as he grabbed her, he let her fall effortlessly to the ground.

She gasped for air, when she suddenly felt something sharp beneath her feet. Wincing slightly , she lifted her knees up a bit and stared at the object below in bewilderment. To anyone, it looked like a piece of broken glass, but to her, it was their ticket to freedom. Seeing this as their only chance for hope, she quickly scooped it up from behind with her hands and clutched onto it tightly, not caring about the blood that oozed out of the freshly made cuts.

"Sakura, answer me damn it!" Sakura quickly shook herself out of her trance and looked towards the direction of the sound. She quickly recognised it as Ino's voice and let herself give a shaky reply.

"Y-yeah, sorry, I didn't hear you" Sakura assumed that she must have been so shocked with Neji's sudden outburst, she must have completely forgotten about her friends.

"You had us so scared, I thought you were dying! Tenten woke up about a minute ago, she's ok as well. You alright Sakura?" Hinata asked.

Sakura merely nodded, before speaking again. "Are you ok Tenten?"

"You idiot! Why would you get so concerned over me?" She exclaimed, her sudden surge unexpected.

Sakura slightly taken aback, smiled lightly and replied, "Because you're my friend, genius!,"

"Enough with the chatter! Sai, Naruto, Shikamaru, Let's go!" Ordered Neji. He'd had enough with the stupid reunion, and he was never a patient person. Each four of them got back to dragging the girls uncomfortably back to the castle.

Sakura wasn't paying attention to him though, and no matter how uncomfortable the dragging seemed, her mind was only concentrating on her plan. She was going to escape, by cutting the rope with the piece of glass and freeing her hands. The rope used to drag them was tied around her stomach, so she could free her legs and pass the piece of glass around to her friends without them getting noticed. She was sure that it was going to work, so she started with cutting her hand ropes.

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><p>Sakura Haruno had never been so pleased. True, the task wasn't exactly the hardest one, but her plan had actually worked. Not only had she cut all her ropes unnoticed, but the rest of the girls had done as well. It looked like they understood what she wanted them to do, and instantly followed on. She glanced back at Tenten, who seemed to have read her mind and nodded her head slightly.<p>

"Ow, my stomach hurts, can you please stop and make the rope a little bit looser?" Asked Tenten.

Neji stopped and tilted his head so that it was facing Tenten. Anyone could see the dark scowl printed onto his face. "No. Be quiet." He said, then turned his head back and started dragging her again like she weighed nothing.

Tenten smirked. She moved her right foot slightly, took a deep breath in and lashed it out towards his feet.

Neji instantly dodged the attack but let go of the rope. Tenten quickly scrambled up to her feet and throw a bunch of soil in his face. He cursed under his breathe, and she took it as an opportunity to run away. She threw the piece of glass to Hinata, who caught it with ease and used it to slash Naruto right across his chest.

His eyes suddenly blazed a fiery red as he grabbed her wrists and she instantly let go of the glass in fear. "Insolent bitch, I'll make you pay for that!" He roared, his fangs growing longer as his grasp turned unbearably stronger.

Hinata gasped in pain, helplessly falling to her knees, when she suddenly remembered she could use her feet. Thinking quickly, she brought her foot up and kicked him hard on his chin, making him ever so slightly stumble, but it wasn't enough to loosen his hold.

Using instincts, she brought out her other foot and hit him in a weak spot; one she knew would definitely cause damage. His solar plexus, a point above his stomach and below his lungs, in the centre of his body.

His metal grip instantly weakened, and she took it as an opening to free her hands and hit him on the side of his neck, another fragile spot. To her disbelief, it didn't cause as great as an effect as she recalled. Normally, it would cause a short period of paralysation, no longer than 5 minutes but enough to buy them time. Nonetheless, he was still moving, a little sluggishly, but still moving.

Too shocked to think about his inhuman body, she turned on her heel and ran towards the direction of Tenten, deeper into the unwelcoming forest.

Sakura and Ino took Sai's distraction as a chance to run away. Big mistake. He instantly noticed and held them each by the hair, pinning them down to the ground. Ino looked at him through the corner of her eye, his emotionless face clearly visible even in the dark.

He bent his head down, so that it was merely inches away from hers and hissed, "I would advise you to stay still if you want to die feeling little pain".

Sakura glared at the back of his head, how she wanted to pull his hair instead. Her thoughts were instantly cut off when Ino did the most shocking thing Sakura's seen her do. She just spat right in his face.

"Don't try and threaten me you emotionless zombie freak! I don't know who you think you are, but when my parents find ou- AAH!" She screamed in pain as he slammed her face into the dirty earth beneath them, still holding on to both of their hair.

He shook Ino's head with his hand, allowing tears of pain to form on the tips of her eyes. "You filthy wretch! I warned you!" He growled into her ear. Sakura couldn't bare this any longer.

Without processing her actions through, she yanked his hair with her free hand, pulling his head back a little. "Let go of my friend!" She exclaimed. And to her surprise, he did, and stood up, standing as still as a statue.

"You shouldn't have done that" He spoke, the danger in his voice clearly visible. He turned around slightly, and for a second Sakura swore she saw fangs. She figured the dark was playing tricks on her eyes, but she was soon proved wrong when he turned around fully, his tall, ghostly figure looming over hers. And the clear pointing of razor sharp teeth, no, icicles were visible.

"What in the world are you?" She whispered eyes wide in fear. "I-Ino, run for it!" She suddenly cried out. They clumsily stumbled to their feet, and ran. But to him, it was like a movie played in slow motion. He smirked, and in a second he was in front of them. "Too slow"

Sakura and Ino were too shocked to move. But if they didn't, they were going to die. So without thinking, Sakura fisted her hand and lashed it out into his stomach, a monstrous punch. Satisfied with his slightly shocked reaction, she brought up her knee and collided it with his jaw, sending him stammering back a bit.

Using this as a chance to escape, they ran at full speed past him and into the foreboding forest, not daring to look back.

Temari barely stood up and glared at Shikamaru. He stood there; calm as ever, like this was nothing to him, like he'd already guessed her next move.

She studied him for a while, before breaking into a loud battle cry and using her feet to kick him in the side of his body, but he just simply disappeared in a flash before her eyes. She cursed under her breath, eyeing her surroundings. She knew that move; the infamous flash step.

He suddenly appeared in front her and before she knew it, she was sent flying back into a tree. She fell on all fours, blood trickling down her arms. She stammered up, refusing to use the tree trunk as support. She wasn't going to show him weakness, she wasn't going to show any of them weakness.

"You can tell you're a stubborn women. How troublesome" He tutted. She glared at him, before straightening herself.

She suddenly realised that he wasn't using his _Shadow Possession Jutsu_. She let her mind dwell on the thought for a minute, when it unexpectedly hit her. Shadows. To be able to use that particular power, he needed shadows. And to create shadows, you needed some sort of light source. Looking up at the sky, she found out the key to her questions was right above her.

The clouds completely blocked any sort of light. Infact, it looked like a heavy rainstorm was about to start any second now. She smirked to herself, she had the advantage now.

"I see you have realised the secret to my Jutsu. Seems like I might have underestimated you." He spoke.

The fog started thickening now, making it very tough to see through it. She let some time pass, allowing the fog to thicken even more, before breaking into a sprint in the opposite direction, and into the sinister forest.

She knew he wouldn't follow, because just from that short encounter, she found out that he was the lazy type of person , one who didn't like working extra or doing more than they intended to.

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><p>Sakura knew they were lost. Not long after the escape, they met up with Tenten and Hinata. Temari soon followed on, and explained to them that a storm was heading this way, and that it was good news.<p>

"What? How is a storm good news? And how do you know who those guys are!" Sakura asked, still running at full speed.

"If it rains, then our scents are lost, so they can't smell us or track us" She explained, like it was the most normal thing in the world. "And second of all, I don't know them, they just happen to know me, but I don't know how" She continued.

Sakura stared at her incredulously. "What are you talking about Temari? They aren't animals, whatever they are, right?" She asked.

Temari stared back, but it was turning out to be difficult since she was running at the same time. Sighing, she turned her head back and focused on running again. "They were Vampires. I know you think they don't exist, but they do." She replied.

Seconds passed. Almost 2 minutes. "Ppphht…Hahahaha! Vampires!" Laughed Tenten. Her laughter seemed to be contagious, because soon after Ino found herself laughing along with her.

"Im being serious here. This isn't a joke," Said Temari, her voice in up most urgency. Tenten and Ino's laughter soon died out. Tenten cleared her throat, before speaking again, "Right. Those guys were Vampires… Hahahaha! Im sorry, but are you kidding me? Vampires don't exist, they 're mythical creatures for god's sake," She finished.

Temari growled in annoyance. "Well who do you think they were?" She asked, raising a neat eyebrow up, not that it was even seen.

"I don't know, probably more actors being actors." She shrugged, still running at full speed.

Hinata looked over at Tenten. "Not to be rude or anything Tenten, but even if they were actors, they wouldn't drag us by rope, or slam us into tree's. It's illegal to do so," She explained, hoping Tenten would understand.

"Hinata's right Tenten. Any way's, they had _fangs, _I saw them with my own eyes! Whoever they are, they're not actors. I doubt they'd even be any actors at this time of night, in this place," Said Sakura, trying to think of a reasonable explanation to the situation they are in.

"I got it!" Tenten suddenly exclaimed, unexpectedly stopping halfway through the run. Caught off by her abrupt outburst, each of them stopped too.

"Ok Temari, you can drop the act now, we figured out what this is," Tenten spoke. Temari gave her a full confused expression.

"I beg your pardon?" Temari asked, blinking her eyes a couple of times.

"We know this is a prank, I mean, what else could it be? No phone signals, getting chased by random women, crossing a narrow bridge with no railings, getting dragged by rope and now you're telling us we got kidnapped by Vampires? Whose mom here set us up?" She asked, crossing her arms.

They all stared at Tenten like she lost her mind. But then Sakura reconsidered the proposed thought. It was actually a very convincing reason. Infact, she almost believed it.

"Don't be ridiculous! You still don't trust me, do you? You think that im still trying to prank you, like this is all some sort of joke. I can't believe I tried to help you, I never do 'service' for people anyways! What was I thinking?" Temari all of a sudden burst out, her voice much angrier than they'd ever heard.

Sakura winced at the level of frustration Temari was using. She spoke, in a much softer and gentler voice, "Temari, we do trust you. If we never trusted you, then we wouldn't be here at the moment. We're just confused, ok? It's not every day you see 21st century kidnappers living in a deserted castle and dragging their victims by rope." She rolled her eyes in annoyance when she finished.

Temari suddenly stared at her like she was some sort of ghost. "You mean the 18th century," She corrected, a nervous laugh escaping her lips.

Sakura knitted her eyebrows in confusion, "No, I meant the 21st century, the century we're living in…"

Temari's eyes widened in fear as she took a few steps back. "God forsake those Devils, their curse worked. This explains everything " She muttered.

"What are you talking about Temari? What do you mean 'God forsake the devils, their curse worked'? Who's curse?" Asked Tenten. She took a step forward, the others mimicking her actions and gathered around Temari.

Temari gulped slightly, before straightening up and rubbing her temples.

"Listen, this may shock you, but you have to believe every single word Im going to tell you, alright?" She asked. They nodded their heads, not knowing what she was talking about.

"We are not in the 21st century, we're in the 18th century. Those angry women earlier probably chased you because you of how you were dressed. In the 18th century, no-one wears," She pointed at their attire hidden beneath the cloaks, "this. And the rules are very strict, they believe that if you look the slightest bit different, you are either possessed or a witch. The 'people' we just had an encounter with are actually Vampires. They died a century ago, and put a curse on their tombs , for unknown reasons I've been told. In the 21st century, you must have done something to 'mock' or 'anger' them, and for some unfortunate reasons, you've been summoned back to the 18th century" She finished. And waited.

Seconds of complete silence passed. The clouds above ominously huddled together, their dark curves mocking the landscape. The fearful quaking of the sky started as the deafening thunder took its place in the orchestra. With a crack, the sky split open and the rain, slow at first, pelted the now soggy ground.

But still, they never spoke. "Hey, are you ok? Come on, we better get moving, before they catch up with us," Temari started, but her gentle voice had no effect on them.

"T-this is all impossible. We can't be in the 18th century. Temari please stop this now, if this is a joke it's not funny anymore. Im cold and muddy and drenched. I can't feel my hands or my feet, by body aches from all the running and im bruised all over. " Pleaded Ino, her voice cracking.

"Ino…Im sorry, but im not the one responsible for this. Im doing everything I can to help you, you're in the 18th century now, whether you want to believe it or not. I'll take you all to my house, you can get cleaned and rest. We'll talk in the morning, ok?" She tried to reassure her, softly using her hands to caress Ino's arms.

They were all completely soaked because of the rain. A ferocious wind whipped passed them, making the temperature surrounding them instantly to drop below 0. Icy chills slithered down their spine, goose bumps filled their body.

"Come on, let's go now," She said, and turned around, ready to start running again.

"Im afraid we can't let you " He said.

Sakura recognised that voice. It was Neji Hyuga's. It was them again. She instantly shook in fear, eyes watering. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. No, more than that, she was petrified. She was only 16, yet she was about to die.

She let her tears escape, let them pour and mix with the rain as they drizzled down her cheeks. What about her Parents? Her Mother, her Father. She was never going to see them again. Infact, they would never find out what happened to them. Search parties would be informed to search, the police would investigate, and then after 2 weeks, they'd get tired, and find no traces of her sudden disappearance. It would go down as an unsolved mystery, forgotten s the years pass by. Heck, she wasn't even going to get a proper funeral.

"What the hell do you want from us huh?" Screamed Tenten.

"Come on, let's go, now!" Ordered Temari.

To Sakura, this had turned into a routine. Run, Stop, get caught, Run, Escape, get caught etc. There was no point in running, she wouldn't even be able to see where she was running. And even if she did, they would just get caught again. But it didn't look like Temari was about to give up. She grabbed her by the wrist and ran. Again.

A sudden scream made them stop. Sakura abruptly turned around to see that Hinata had slipped in the mud because of the rain. She instinctively ran back to aid her but to her horror saw that the more she ran, the further Hinata got.

"Sakura! Help me!" Hinata cried out. Sakura saw that she was using her small petite hands to sink in the mud, to grip onto something for support, but it didn't help. "Sakura! Something's dragging me from my feet! Help me!" she cried again. Her voice grew fainter and more distant.

"Hinata! Hinata, don't go!" She heard Ino and Tenten scream from behind. She could tell they were also running back.

A sudden cry from another direction made Sakura stop and turn back. It looked like someone was dragging Tenten from her arms.

"Tenten! Tenten, No! Stop It! Stop dragging her! " Cried Sakura, running towards Tenten, but she had already merged with the darkness.

"Sakura, Temari! Help me!" Sakura whipped her head left to see that Ino's foot was stuck between something. She had already lost 2 of her friends, she wasn't about to lose another.

But she was too late. The shadowed figure already had his arms wrapped around Ino, taking her away from Sakura's sight.

"Sakura! Help me!" She heard Ino cry. Sakura still ran at full speed towards the direction if her voice.

"Ino! Ino, don't leave me!" She shrieked under the pelting of the rain. "Ino! Ino!" She cried in between sobs. But no-one answered her.

Feeling absolutely helpless, she fell powerlessly to the muddy ground. And she sobbed. But it wasn't because she was going to die, it was because of what she had to see before that. Her friends were her only family after her parents. Ever since they were children, they had always been there for each other.

And they were gone. They left her. So she sobbed. "Sakura! Sakura, get up! Please!" Sakura recognised it as Temari's voice. But she didn't do as she was asked. It wasn't until she felt her body literally getting dragged up that she paid attention.

"Leave me alone!" She cried. Temari was slightly taken aback. "Just go away Temari! I wish they'd just killed me already! I wish I died and never had to see that!" Sakura cried again.

Temari's eyes suddenly hardened and became serious. "Stop it Sakura, what's done is done, snap out of it! They're not dead yet, we can still save them!" Reasoned Temari.

"I don't think that's possible" he said. Shikamaru Nara. Sakura and Temari instantly looked towards him. He was just standing there, behind the fog.

Temari recalled the piece of Information she gained earlier. If there was no light, he couldn't cast shadows, so he was technically harmless.

"Sakura, we still have a chance if we go now, he can't use his Jutsu unless there's -" But she never got to finish, since she was interrupted midway through her sentence.

"Unless there's light around, am I right?" He asked. She couldn't believe it. He had used the Jutsu, right now they were as good as paralyzed. But how?

"H-how did you?" She asked, eyes full of shock and disbelief.

"The shadow possession Jutsu is as good as flawless. It would take you an incredible amount of time to figure out its precise weaknesses. It was a pleasure meeting you though" He finished off, and once again, darkness enclosed around Sakura.

So this really was the end for her, the end for everything she had ever worked for, her top grades, the respect she earned from her school, the love she received from her family and friends. Everything she had ever done and everyone she had ever known, all gone just like that.

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><p>Soreness. A stinging feeling on her cheek. Her head throbbed unbearably. She tried to move her hands, but she couldn't, it felt like they were tied up.<p>

Then a voice. "Wake up, girl!"

SLAP.

The numbness started weakening, leaving pins and needles in its place.

"I said, wake up!"

SLAP.

Sakura instantly fluttered her emerald eyes open, and blinked a couple of times, trying to regain eyesight. She was in an unfamiliar room. She couldn't tell where she was or how the room looked, but she definitely saw the colour of fiery red hair in front of her face.

"Good, seems like the slapping did its job." She heard that same voice again. It instantly annoyed her. She didn't know why, but whoever the owner of the voice was, she hated her.

Sakura suddenly remembered the scene before. Her friends, where were her friends?

"Who the hell are you and where are my friends?" Sakura suddenly exclaimed. She saw the female's ruby red eyes glare dangerously at her.

SLAP.

"Do not address me with that kind of voice, you disgusting mortal! I don't know who you think you are, but let me tell you who _I_ am. My name is Karin, you will address me with Mistress Karin. I am Sasuke Uchiha's fiancé and soon to be mate."

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><p>Woohoo! Another Chapter done! I hope you guys liked it, I made it longer especially for those people who actually like reading this Fanfic. Thank you so much for everything, and if there is any way to express my gratitude, then I hope I did when I wrote this.<p>

Oh and by the way, this is a SASUSAKU fic, not SASUKARIN. Karin is there to stir up the situation, it's part of the 'plot'. I know, I'm so evil *_* !

This reminds me… WHO'S DONE THEIR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING? TELL ME WHAT YOU DID OK, I NEED IDEA'S BECAUSE I STILL HAVENT FINISHED!

Don't forget to R&R

With much love xx-Ash-xx-1


	5. Chapter 5

**Midnight Vampires: No escape**

Hi lovely people. **MERRY CHRISTMAS BY THE WAY! **Hope you had a good one! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and Im so sorry to everyone who reviewed at first and thought there was a mistake; yes I accidentally uploaded my other stories chapter. But I did send a PM to everyone, telling them that the real chapter is up.

Anyways, enjoy chapter 5!

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><p>Chapter 5: Welcome food, you're cursed<p>

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Sakura thought that she had died, that she had ceased to exist. In a way, she was hoping that she had died, at least then she wouldn't have to go through this torture. The torture of never knowing what was about to happen next.

She wanted her friends the most right now. She needed them to comfort her, to stick close together. But from the way things were going, her chances were very poor. Never had she felt so alone before, the very feeling of loneliness scared her.

Guilt instantly washed over her. Now she knew how all those people in school felt, the ones who were always bullied. She hated bullies, the very thought of them sickened her. She hated the fact that they made everyone feel so inferior next to them.

"I want to know where my friends are" she hissed to the figure in front of her. She hated how she sounded so weak even though her initial intention was to shout and order it.

"Do not shout in my presence girl! I already warned you, you address me with Mistress Karin!" Exclaimed Karin.

The flickering of candle lights created many shadows, but it was clear to Sakura that this 'Karin' was more than mad. The deep scowl on her face was unmistakably visible despite the little light that was given off by the candles.

Yet Sakura couldn't give a damn. How dare she order her around like she was some dog? If Karin though she was scared of her, then she was obviously wrong.

"You still haven't answered my question. I don't know who you are, or where I am, but I want to know where my friends are" Repeated Sakura.

Karin's eyes blazed dangerously at her, but Sakura was determined to hold her gaze.

SLAP.

"Who do you think you are, you filthy peasant? Do you not know who I am? I am Karin, Sasuke Uchiha's fiancée and soon to be mate!" She bellowed.

Sakura was suddenly infuriated with this mad woman's actions. She wasn't going to take another slap from _her_. Who does she think she is, threatening her with the same line, 'I am Sasuke Uchiha's fiancé and soon to be mate!' It annoyed her to no end, and the urge to spit in her face was suddenly becoming irresistible.

"I don't care if Sasuke Uchiha was your father; I still want to know where my friends are! I don't even know who Sasuke Uchiha is!" Insisted Sakura, instantly finding the courage to shout at Karin.

For the first time since she had woken up, Sakura took time to briefly take not of Karin's image. A sort of oval/triangular face complimented her pale complexion. Red, almond shaped eyes stood out against her skin, pursed scowling lips making her look unapproachable.

But what caught Sakura's attention the most was Karin's hair. And it wasn't because of its unusual cut; long but slightly spike, it was because of its colour- fiery red like her eyes. Not ginger, but full red. She wasn't one to speak though, pink hair was one of the most unusual she'd ever seen.

She quickly skimmed down to Karin's attire. A long-waisted stay which was strapless and cut high at the armpit. She could tell it was tightly laced due to the posture Karin was using. The black, satin gown was a low-necked one, which flowed all the way down to her ankles. Red silk embroidery filled the back-sack gown all the way from the closed bodice to the bottom of the dress, making it look extremely expensive yet gothic.

Sakura knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. _Back-sack gown and a bodice? _She thought, _but they only ever existed in the 18__th__ century, this isn't the 18__th__… _But that's when a wave of memory instantly hit her. '_You're in the 18__th__ century now, whether you want to be or not_' She recalled Temari's words.

Yet she didn't want to believe them. She was hoping all of this was a nightmare, Infact, she still was. Not even the 21st century could explain time travel, it was still considered near impossible. The whole process of time travel was unexplainable, there were too many complications and so it was proven it couldn't be done.

Nonetheless, here she was, in the 18th century. She was instantly drawn out of her thoughts with a hard shaking over her shoulders.

"Listen peasant, Sasuke Uchiha is one of the greatest Vampire leaders, and is also heir to the Uchiha throne. They are some of the most powerful Vampire clans to ever exist, they have been going on for generations, but lately, their numbers lessened. He is currently living here, with 4 other heir to the clan leaders, as part of an alliance. And understand this, he _loves_ me." Finished Karin.

Sakura stared at her in complete bewilderment. "I don't care about Sasuke Uchiha or the fact that you're his lover, I want to know where my friends are. What have you done with them?" Asked Sakura impatiently.

Karin instantly smirked. "Ah, your friends; the other peasants and that traitor. Do not worry, they are right here in this room, they are safe."

Sakura instantly felt like a ton of weight was lifted off her shoulder's as she sighed in relief.

"For now." Hissed Karin, smiling wickedly when she saw Sakura tense up again.

Sakura immediately scanned the room for her friends. She took the chance to take in how the room actually looked. Windows were covered with grime and dirt; the calm moonlight struggled to penetrate the darkness, creating sharp shadows around the room. Black wallpaper lay curled on the floor. Dust swirled around in the air, making it difficult to breathe. The room's walls showed black decay, as cobwebs covered the now mouldy ceiling. Blotches of dark red covered the empty walls, most likely dried blood. It was as if someone had replaced her spine with ice as she shivered in fear and disgust.

Slightly squinting, she tried to see if the misshaped silhouettes belonged to her friends. To her relief, she could make out that it was them, thanks to the little light that was being given off by the melting candles.

"How come they're still not awake, but I am?" Asked Sakura.

The wooden floor boards moaned and creaked as the _Clack Clack _of shuffling footsteps were heard in the distance. Sakura tilted her head towards the direction of the sound, trying to get a better view of who it was. She was petrified, who knew what these people were going to do to her.

The sound gradually got louder, until it came to an abrupt stop outside the door, a few metres behind Sakura. Swallowing hard, she dared herself to turn around and take a glance at the newest arrival. But she just couldn't, the sense of paranoia was taking over her.

"Mistress Karin, Master Sasuke has arrived from feeding and wishes to see you. Do not worry; the other Masters shall take care of these…peasants in a moment." Spoke a female voice. She hated the way this girl referred her to a peasant as well.

"Ok Mistress Shion, thank you for informing me about his arrival." And with that, the 2 walked out of the room, leaving Sakura alone.

* * *

><p>Not long after, shuffling noises were heard in the corner of the room, making Sakura tense up in fear. She forced her feet to push her body away from the noise, but she instantly stopped when an unfamiliar yet mesmerising voice stopped her.<p>

"Trying to escape now are we?" He asked. His voice sounded deep and smooth; nevertheless it had an unmistakeable hint of danger in it.

When there was no reply, he spoke again. "Karin was telling me how disobedient you were to her, I suggest you try and cooperate with my soon to be bride next time, unless of course, you want to end up dying painfully."

Sakura balled her fists behind her back in anger. _So this is the so called infamous Sasuke Uchiha his idiot of a girlfriend was talking about, _she thought.

"Your bride wasn't cooperating with _me_. I just want my friends." She answered, though it was barely above a whisper.

"Hn. I see, you want those petty little mortals with you, am I correct? Do not worry, when we kill you, you'll be able to see them clearly." He mocked.

Sakura's eyes started watering, but she refused to cry in front of him. Right now she needed answers.

"Why are we here?" She demanded. There was a brief pause, before he spoke again.

"You still don't know, do you? Pity, and I suspected you to be a little bit smarter than the others. Guess I was wrong." He hissed.

"Just answer the damn question." She repeated, sounding more frustrated now.

"Hn. You fool; you and your idiotic friends are here because of your own stupid mistakes that you did. How dare you mock me by dancing on my tombstone? Thought it was funny back then? Well tell me mortal, do I sound humorous to you right now?" He asked, venom seeping through every word.

Sakura gulped in fear. Before she knew it, a flash right before her eyes sent her crashing back into the room's back wall. She winced in pain, she was sure her skull cracked from the impact of the push.

"You said you wanted to be with your friends, well here they are, right next to you," He continued, but Sakura wasn't sure where he was roughly standing now. She didn't care though; her priority right now was to see to her unconscious friends.

She suddenly thanked her medical skills, and her teacher, Tsunade, for teaching her about occasions like these.

* * *

><p>Not long after trying to wake them up, Hinata fluttered her eyes open and let a small moan escape her lips. She tried to lift her head up, but it only went crashing back down. Trying again, she realised that using her hands wasn't an option, since they were tied up behind her back. Thankfully, her feet weren't bound by rope, so she used them as support.<p>

Slowly, she tried again and to her relief, was successful. She blinked a couple of times, trying to regain eyesight, but the darkness surrounding her wasn't helping. She didn't know where she was or how she got there. Turning her head to the side, she suddenly saw a flash of pink before her eyes.

"S-Sakura, is that you?" She stuttered. She instantly heard a sigh of relief and before she knew it, Sakura was laughing.

"You're alright!" She heard her say. Hinata found herself smiling at Sakura's words.

"Yeah, of course I am. Hey Sakura, do you know where we are?" She asked. Sakura just shook her head in reply.

"You are in my castle girl." An unfamiliar voice spoke. _So we're not alone,_ she thought to herself.

"The others shall arrive here soon, where we shall proceed with this matter at hand." He continued. More shuffling was heard towards Hinata's and Sakura's left. Tilting their heads to the side, they recognised the shifting figure as Tenten.

"Tenten!" They both exclaimed.

"Ugh, where the hell am I?" She said, trying to use her hands to rub her aching head. She suddenly found out that she couldn't, due to the fact that they were wrapped up tightly by some sort of rope, the same rope as when they were getting dragged. Cursing under her breath, she tried to break free, but found it close to impossible.

"Do not try to break free, you will only fail. The rope is unbreakable, the more you struggle, the tighter it will get." He smirked.

"Who the hell are you?" Shouted Tenten. A few seconds passed before the shadowed figure walked forward into the light.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha" He said. Sakura was more than hypnotized by his looks. A pale face complimented his sharp looking onyx pools, in which Sakura found herself drowning into. His raven hair was oddly styled as it spiked backwards from the back, but his straight fringe fell effortlessly onto his face. It almost reminded Sakura of a chickens butt, but in a good way. His tall, firm frame created a dangerous atmosphere which surrounded him, making long shadows that cascaded to the ground.

All in all, he was one of the most handsome guys Sakura had ever seen. Infact, he was _too _handsome, he almost looked _unreal_. Even his 'friends' looked dreamlike too. Or in this case, nightmare-like.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but to her it felt like hours, no, days even. She shook herself out of her trance, since when did she ever start feeling like this?

"Well, it seems like your other friends woke up at the right timing, because the others have arrived" He suddenly spoke. Sakura instantly froze in her spot. Sure she was more than glad that Ino and Temari had woken up, but the fact that the other guys had just arrived only added more fear in the air.

"Hn. You took your time." Said Sasuke. The blonde haired boy with piercing blue eyes suddenly cracked up laughing.

"You see? I told you he was going to complain about us being late. You each owe me blood." He said. The other 3 chuckled lightly, while Sasuke scowled in rage.

"Let us just finish this, I've had enough, just the sight of them makes me sick to the core." Growled Sasuke impatiently.

"Wait, what do you mean 'Let us finish this'? What are you going to do with us?" Asked Ino, suddenly becoming more frightened than ever.

She wanted to slap those smirks off their faces, how _they_ made _her_ sick to the core. If only she could use her hands. But even if she did, they would be of no use to her. She was too frightened to move, let alone get up and slap one of them.

"I usually don't waste my breath on mortals, but I'll make an exception this time." Started the paled eyed one, Neji was it. He was interrupted with who Sakura recognised as Shikamaru.

"You actually don't have any breath Neji, we're vampires." He stated lazily.

"I know," was Neji's only reply, "You mortals are here because of a reason. Let me introduce ourselves properly. I am Neji Hyuuga, the only Hyuuga vampire alive. The one to my left is Naruto Uzumaki, heir to the Uzumaki and Namikaze Vampire throne. The one on my right is Sai; he is also another heir to a distant vampire clan. Shikamaru Nara is the one standing next to Naruto, he is heir to the Nara vampire Clan and the person next to him is Sasuke Uchiha, heir to the Uchiha vampire clan." He said.

"We are the greatest living vampires yet to live. We are the 'Vampyr Children" Finished Sai.

Sakura stared at them in complete disbelief and bewilderment. _They really do exist_! She thought.

"Wait a minute, Vampyr Children? No, that's impossible, you were dead and I saw your graves with my own 2 eyes, heck I _danced _on your graves!" Exclaimed Tenten.

But that was when it suddenly hit Sakura. Dancing. '_You must have mocked them in some way to make them so angry at you' _she remembered Temari's assumption.

It all suddenly made sense to her. They should have never danced on their graves. They should have never laughed at their graves either. Infact, they should have never even touched the graves.

* * *

><p>Sakura blamed herself for it. If she had never mentioned that tree, they would have never gone up to it, Ino would have never been scared and they would have never teased her about it. She would have never even danced on the graves. It was all her fault.<p>

"And it was because of that stupid reason that you are here right now. Anyone who dare take us, the 'Vampyr Children', as a joke, suffer the consequence of it. You 4 are cursed now; you were cursed from the very first moment you set foot on our graves." Said Shikamaru.

"W-wait, you're telling me that you are the 'Vampyr Children'? Ok, this is going way too far. Im sorry, but im not buying this crap. First we are chased by women claiming we're witches, then Temari tells us we're in the 18th century and then we got kidnapped by Vampires, who now are telling me they are the 'Vampyr Children'. Just who are you?" Demanded Tenten. It seemed like she still hadn't believed in what Temari had said, or didn't want to.

"You do not have to believe this. But let me tell you now, you are in the 18th century and we are the Vampyr Children. You will soon see for yourself" Said Naruto, taking a step forwards.

"W-what do you mean?" whispered Hinata.

"He means we're food!" Exclaimed Temari, instantly using the wall for support and lifting herself to her feet.

"My my, you're quiet the feisty one aren't you?" Asked Neji. Shikamaru instantly used his Shadow Possession Jutsu and held her in place. She cursed under her breathe for being so careless.

"Let's get this done with. Sai, would you like to choose your feeding victim?" Stated Sasuke.

The girls instantly tensed up in fear and self-consciously huddled up together. Sai stared intensely at each one of them.

"I want to taste your blood the most for your disgusting actions earlier." He said, glaring at Ino. Her eyes suddenly widened in fright as she shuffled as far away from him as possible.

"The pink haired one is my feeding victim, it seems like Karin has taking a certain disliking to her" Continued Sasuke.

"Aw, and I was going to choose her, she seemed like the most sensible choice to have. No matter, Neji, you don't mind if I have the Hyuga girl do you?" Asked Naruto. Neji shook his head in reply, in which Naruto only smiled to before focusing his attention back onto Hinata.

Said girl felt like she was on the verge of fainting. "I'll show you how it feels to have a knife slashed right across your body, insolent wrench!" He hissed. Hinata instantly regretted hurting him earlier, when she soddenly noticed that his attire was different and that his wound was hardly even visible. _Either Vampires healed instantaneously, or this guy had extreme supernatural powers_, she thought.

"Shikamaru, you stay with Temari, your Jutsu seems like it's the only thing capable of keeping her in place" Said Sasuke.

Shikamaru glared at Sasuke. "Since when did you start ordering me around?" He asked. When Sasuke merely replied with an 'Hn', Shikamaru stared at him some more before speaking again.

"How troublesome, this woman is such a hindrance to take care of." He said.

"I guess that leaves you as my feed, excellent. I was hoping to kill you now but it seems like I'd have to wait until feeding day. Waiting for 2 full weeks is a bit too much for me to take, but it seems like I could do with you as I please until then, except for killing you." Said Neji, glaring at Tenten.

"Impossible! Im not your belonging, so don't try and tell me I am!" She barked .

"Hn. Take them away." Said Sasuke. In a flash, Sakura found herself in intense pain and felt as though she was getting carried by her hair.

The last thing she heard was the cry of her friends, and what she soon came to realise, herself.

* * *

><p>Before she could process what was going on, Hinata found herself forcefully slammed into a wall. She moaned in pain as she slid down the wall. But it seemed like whoever had slammed her hadn't had enough.<p>

"Stupid bitch!" Roared Naruto. He picked her up by her wrists from behind and pushed her forward into the other wall, sending her crashing down to the floor. Blood trickled down her mouth as she collapsed to the ground.

But that immediately caught Naruto's attention. The smell of her blood wafted through the air sending a spine-tingling sensation down Naruto's spine. His sky blue eyes suddenly turned bloody red as his fangs grew longer and sharper. He took one dangerous step towards Hinata.

Never had Hinata felt so petrified in all her life. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't comply with what she was asking. How she wished her friends were her to help her, but they weren't. She didn't even know where she was or how she was going to get out of this mess.

He was a mere metre away from her now, his piercing glare never leaving her sight. He walked further towards her, now only half a metre away. Licking his lips, he took the last step forwards, before grabbing Hinata by the neck and lifting her up, slamming her hard into the back wall.

She struggled for a bit, but found out the more she struggled, the harder his grasp around her neck got. "Please…," She pleaded, "Please stop."

He moved his fangs closer to her neck, but stopped as soon as she spoke. Growling in fury, he tried to bite her again, but found that he just couldn't do it. He didn't know if it was because of her begging, but he instantly released her and went back to his normal state.

She stood there, shaking. Nonetheless, she looked right into his eyes and gave him a light smile. "Thank you" She said, before she fainted and collapsed into his arms.

* * *

><p>Sakura found herself in a completely different room then she was before. This one was neater and much more…humane than the one earlier. But it still had that same dark or gothic theme about it. Before she knew it, she was sent crashing to the ground.<p>

"You are filthy; I don't want to see you in my room." Said Sasuke. He walked towards his large king sized bed and sat on the soft, satin-like material.

Sakura snorted in reply. "Yeah well if you really didn't want me to be in here, you wouldn't have bought me in your room, would you?" she asked.

She knew that it was wrong, that her words were going to get her into a lot of trouble, but she didn't care at the moment. It was bad enough she was going to die, she might as well just get it done and over with. She knew she was sounding selfish, but she couldn't care less right now.

But what about all her friends? What was going to happen to them?

"Be quiet peasant. You're annoying," He grumbled. He didn't want her to be his feeding victim, he would have rather had the quiet Hyuuga girl; her death would be quick yet enjoyable.

"I have a name, and it's not peasant, its Sakura." She said.

"I do not care, peasant. I have no interest in finding out your name." He replied, before standing up and brushing his black frock coat.

Sakura decided not to say anything after that. She watched him walk past her and towards the door.

"So you're just going to leave me like this? What a bastard" She blurted out. He stopped, and then turned his head around to face her. She didn't know if the shadows were playing tricks on her eyes, but for a second, she swore she had seen them turn red.

Sakura suddenly became aware of the Katana that was placed on the wall in front. She only remembered blinking, but somehow, during that one blink, Sasuke was able to place the tip of the Katana at her throat.

"A mere human like you dare call me a bastard? You're parents upbringing of you is a disgrace" He hissed. He moved the katana off her throat and brought it up to her cheek. "Karin is going to have such a hard time disciplining you. Hn." He made a light slash across her cheek, making fresh blood ooze out of the newly made wound. She winced in pain, allowing a light cry escape her mouth.

He stood as calm as ever, glaring at her, before lifting the Katana away from her face and wiping it clean with a handkerchief. As soon as he finished, he placed it neatly back in its position on the wall.

Sakura glared at him all the time. "How can you be Vampire and yet still be ok around blood?" She jeered.

"Oh, it's not that I'm ok with it, your blood just doesn't satisfy me as much." He said, before turning around and walking towards the door again.

"You think you're so great and powerful, but you're just a coward. If you're really as incredible as everyone says, you wouldn't be afraid of untying a harmless little human _girl_." Sneered Sakura, emphasising greatly on the last word.

She saw him clenching and unclenching his fists, a sign which meant anger. Nonetheless, Sasuke clenched the handle to the door and forced it open, before slamming it shut behind him.

The sound of slamming echoed throughout the room, shaking the candle lit chandelier above Sakura. She looked down and saw that little droplets of water were below her. She stared in wonder at the floor, _where did they come from?_ She thought.

More seemed to be hitting the ground. _Tap_. _Tap_. But that's when Sakura realised that she was crying.

* * *

><p>Tenten didn't know what was happening, one second she was shouting at the so called 'Vampyr Children', the next she was in some sort of bedroom. She whipped her head back and found that Neji was leaning on the door, arms crossed.<p>

She instantly stumbled up to her feet, though it wasn't exactly easy with her hands tied up, and stood still to regain her balance.

"Get out of my way," She ordered, glaring angrily at Neji. He didn't move, not even flinch. She gritted her teeth in fury. "I said, get out of my way!" She exclaimed while charging at Neji, and used her feet to try and kick him.

But her moves were sluggish, she was too tired and so her kick had no effect on him. She realised that without being able to use her hands, she wouldn't be able to do anything. She cursed herself for not bringing her pocket knife with her. She didn't even have that broken piece of glass with her; last thing she recalled was throwing it to Hinata.

"Wipe that stupid smirk off your face or would you rather I did it for you?" She murmured.

Neji scowled at her before straightening himself up. "So you want to fight me?" He hissed, "Very well then. But let me tell you, you've just dug your own grave."

In an instance, Neji was behind her and ripped the ropes free of her hand. Wasting no time, Tenten balled them into fists and tried to land a punch in his face. But it doing so, she lost her footing at tripped forward right into Neji. And did the least thing she had in mind.

Tenten had just kissed Neji Hyuga.

* * *

><p>Sakura found herself waking up, yet she didn't remember sleeping. A wolf howled in the distance, making her instantly rise up in awareness. The chandelier above her shook uncontrollably, and before she knew it, the chain holding it up snapped and gravity pulled it down to earth, towards her.<p>

She shrieked in panic and closed her eyes, waiting for the endless amount of pain to hit her and end her life. But it never did. Instead, she heard it fall and crash into pieces, but not a single scratch was placed on her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and blinked. And to her shock, found that Sasuke Uchiha had just saved her life.

* * *

><p>Finally, it's finished. Don't get me wrong, I do like writing, but not when I'm ill. Anyways, hope you had a wonderful Christmas and holiday, I know I did!<p>

So tell me, did you like this chapter, or should I have done something different to improve?

Please tell me when you review; it really helps, trust me.

With much love,

xx-Ash-xx-1


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